The world this week | Delhi to reopen embassy in Kabul; PM Modi hails India-UK ties as crucial for global stability; Gazans return to ruined homes

The announcement came during a meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Taliban-led Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, with the two sides signalling the intent to deepen the bilateral ties across a broad range of areas, including counter-terrorism, security, and trade.

Underlining the two countries’ “common commitment towards growth and prosperity”, Jaishankar noted that these are “endangered by the shared threat of cross-border terrorism” and urged Muttaqi to “coordinate efforts” to counter the threat.

India also thanked the Taliban-led government for condemning the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam which killed 26 people. Muttaqi also ruled out that the Taliban will allow Afghan territory to be used against any country.

Pakistan has had close ties with the Taliban during its first rule between 1996 and 2001, and played a pivotal role in bringing the group back to power in Afghanistan in 2021. But of late, Pakistan’s ties with the Afghan Taliban turned frigid, adding a strategic dimension to Delhi’s ties with Kabul.

At the same time, strained India-US ties over trade agreements coinciding with America’s overtures towards Pakistan and its demand for Afghanistan’s Bagram airbase, alongside the growing influence of China in the region, are some of the developments underscoring a shifting strategic landscape along India’s western front and prompting New Delhi to recalibrate its diplomatic posture. It is in this regional setting also that Muttaqi is visiting India.

Drawing attention to trade and development, Muttaqi urged India for stronger trade ties through the Wagah border crossing between India and Pakistan, while also calling for India to use the Iranian port of Chabahar. India reiterated its commitment and offered support for both ongoing and new infrastructure initiatives. 

Jaishankar announced six new health projects for Afghanistan, agreed to help construct residences for Afghan refugees, welcomed the resumption of additional flights between Kabul and New Delhi, and reiterated India’s commitment to facilitating travel for Afghan nationals through a new visa module introduced in April 2025, with more medical, business, and student visas being issued. 

The two sides discussed further collaboration in other areas, while Foreign Minister Muttaqi also invited Indian companies to invest in the mining sector of Afghanistan. 

However, concerns over human rights issues, women, and minorities in Afghanistan largely impeded global recognition of the Taliban government – the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The exclusion of women journalists during a press interaction held on Friday (October 10) by Muttaqi in New Delhi drew heavy criticism from opposition and journalists, prompting the Ministry of External Affairs to clarify that it was not involved in it.

The Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021. India deployed the Technical Team to its Kabul mission on June 23, 2022, ten months after withdrawing its diplomatic staff following the Taliban’s takeover. The Indian government doesn’t officially recognise the Taliban government.

Modi, Starmer affirm commitment to strengthening relations

Amid global volatility, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed India-UK ties as important for stability and economic progress, as the two sides strengthened defence and trade partnerships and flagged cooperation on Artificial Intelligence (AI), critical minerals, and maritime security.

During British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s first visit to India since he assumed office, the two sides signed agreements furthering the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) and a £350 million contract for the UK to supply missiles to India.

Prime Minister Modi also noted that the two sides have “reached an agreement on cooperation in military training”, and affirmed India’s commitment to enhancing maritime security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. He also announced setting up an Industry Guild and Supply Chain Observatory for cooperation on critical minerals.

Calling India “a global player”, Starmer said, “We sit together in the Commonwealth, the G20, and we want to see India taking its rightful place on the UN Security Council too. So we are committed to strengthening our strategic partnership.”

Prime Minister Modi also said that the two countries shared views on peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and West Asia, and added that on the “Ukraine conflict and the Gaza issue, India supports all efforts to restore peace through dialogue and diplomacy.”

During his two-day visit (8-9 October), Starmer led a trade mission with a 126-member delegation comprising business, academic and cultural leaders from the UK. Calling the India-UK economic relations the “jewel in the crown”, Starmer expressed optimism to double down on the potential of our trade deal for the benefit of all of us.

The India-UK trade deal, which will become effective by July next year, is expected to help address the impact of the US tariffs, which particularly affected labour-intensive exports and triggered investment uncertainty in India.

However, all labour-intensive sectors may not see the much-needed relief. Rather, the services sector could be a key beneficiary of the India-UK deal, especially in the context of the US’s H-1B visa fee hike. The UK is one of the largest and most developed service sector economies in the world. The services sector is the largest contributor to India’s economy, accounting for 55 per cent of Gross Value Added (GVA), while the UK’s services sector accounts for 81 per cent.

Some other notable outcomes of Starmer’s visit are – nine UK universities will open their campuses in India, three new Bollywood films will be made in the UK from next year, British Airways would introduce a third daily flight between Delhi and London Heathrow in 2026.

In the meantime, India has received one of the “fresh indications” from the US that an “engagement at the highest level” between Prime Minister Modi and US President Donald Trump could break the current deadlock and inject the momentum needed to push the long-drawn India-US trade talks over the finish line, a senior government official told The Indian Express.

All the while, the US has sanctioned Indian companies and individuals for allegedly facilitating Iranian energy trade, and has revived the trade war with China.

As part of its campaign of maximum economic pressure on Iran, the US has sanctioned nine India-based companies and eight Indian nationals, alleging that they have been engaged in the trade of Iranian oil, petroleum products, and petrochemicals.

President Trump also unveiled additional levies of 100 per cent on China’s US-bound exports, along with new export controls on “any and all critical software” by November 1, nine days before existing tariff relief is set to expire, Reuters reported.

Gazans return ‘home’, doubts linger over peace plan

Finally, thousands of displaced Palestinians began their journey back to their ruined homes in Gaza after Israel stopped bombardment and partially withdrew from the occupied territory under the first phase of a peace deal with Hamas, which became effective on Friday (October 10).  

As part of the first phase of the ceasefire linked to US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace, Hamas is expected to release 20 living Israeli hostages within 72 hours in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees to be released by Israel. The United Nations will also begin delivering aid into Gaza from Sunday (October 12).

Although the latest truce brings an end to the devastating two-year war, there are several red flags casting a shadow over what President Trump proclaimed that the agreement will lead to “a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace”.

There are ambiguity and disagreements around Israeli withdrawals, the disarmament of Hamas, a new technocratic Palestinian administration overseen by an international body, the creation of an International Stabilisation Force (ISF), Israel’s illegal settlement in West Bank, and, most importantly, the roadmap for the creation of a Palestinian State. 

Israeli withdrawals: The Israeli military has pulled its troops back behind the line agreed, but it will still be in control of over 50 per cent of the Gaza Strip. The Hamas-run interior ministry said it would deploy security forces in areas where the Israeli army withdrew. 

Disarmament of Hamas: A senior Hamas official said that the group would not completely disarm and that weapons would only be handed over to the Palestinian state, with fighters integrated into the Palestinian National Army, according to Sky News.

But Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to disarm Hamas either the “easy way” or “the hard way”.

Governance of Gaza: An interim committee of Palestinian technocrats would govern Gaza, though it does not identify any Palestinian individual or group by name. The committee would be overseen by an international body called the Board of Peace headed by Trump and would include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

However, Hamas, alongside Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, has said that the governance of Gaza is purely an internal Palestinian matter, and rejected what it called any “foreign guardianship”.

Security of Gaza: The US will oversee the deployment of ISF, initially made of 200 troops from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the UAE, which will monitor the ceasefire. 

Humanitarian aid: As part of the deal, the UN agencies and other groups will deliver aid to Gaza, and about 600 humanitarian aid trucks are expected to enter the ruined enclave daily.

But the controversial Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) will continue to operate despite the ceasefire, according to Al Jazeera. Starving Palestinians have been reported to be killed and abused in and around the GHF aid sites. 

The Palestinian Authority: The peace plan envisions an eventual role of the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, after it undergoes a sweeping reform programme. There’s no clarity about either the reform programme or the timeline. 

At the same time, there’s no reference to Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank, where Palestinian villagers have been reported to be attacked by Israeli settlers.

Two-state solution: Despite the fact that a Palestinian State remains essential for any lasting peace in the region, the plan remains silent on the two-state solution, which Netanyahu has outrightly rejected. Therefore, the US’s guarded support for Palestinian self-determination barely sounds convincing. 

Against this backdrop, uncertainty lingers over whether the peace plan will actually end the war. Factors like the deep mutual mistrust between Israel and Hamas and Israel’s unilateral violation of the last ceasefire fuel concerns over Israel’s actions once it recovers the hostages – the only leverage Hamas has had.

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