The report also noted Pakistan’s internal and border challenges. The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), ideologically linked to the Afghan Taliban, carried out over 600 attacks in Pakistan last year, resulting in approximately 1,600 deaths, including 700 security personnel.

Following the highest-level talks with Delhi since their takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban's foreign office said they saw India as a "significant regional and economic partner".

India and Afghanistan held their first high-level interaction with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri meeting Afghan Taliban's acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai. For Pakistan, this comes as a shocker as it has always considered Kabul its 'satellite state'.