Taliban minister Amir Muttaqi arrives in India. What’s on agenda and why it matters?

Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday for a week-long visit. This marks his first ministerial-level visit from the Taliban-led government to India since the group took control of Kabul in August 2021.

Afghanistan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi receives a warm welcome on his arrival in New Delhi.(@MEAIndia)

The visit follows a special exemption granted by the United Nations Security Council’s Taliban Sanctions Committee, which temporarily lifted Muttaqi’s travel ban to allow the trip. The exemption was approved on September 30.

Upon his arrival in India, Muttaqi was welcomed by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. “We look forward to engaging discussions with him on bilateral relations and regional issues,” Jaiswal said in a post on X.

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The Afghan minister is in India at the invitation of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and is expected to remain until October 16.

This is not the first time Muttaqi has interacted with Indian officials. In May this year, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said he had a “good conversation” with Muttaqi, appreciating the latter’s condemnation of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir.

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What’s the agenda of Muttaqi’s India visit

Muttaqi’s visit marks the first official outreach of its kind since the Taliban took power. The visit coincides with the arrival of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Mumbai for trade talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

While a meeting between Muttaqi and PM Modi is not confirmed, Indian officials are accorded full protocol to the visiting foreign minister.

Muttaqi will hold extensive talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval during his six-day trip to India, people familiar with the matter said.

Muttaqi’s engagements include a visit to the Darul Uloom Deoband seminary and the Taj Mahal, the people cited above said. He is also expected to meet business groups and members of the Afghan community in India during his stay.

The Afghan foreign minister was scheduled to visit New Delhi last month, but the visit was called off due to a travel ban imposed under UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions.

Although India has not formally recognised the Taliban government, this high-level engagement reflects a pragmatic recalibration of its Afghanistan policy.

UN travel ban temporarily lifted

Muttaqi was originally placed under UN sanctions in 2001, which included a travel ban, asset freeze, and arms embargo.

However, the Taliban Sanctions Committee, chaired this year by Pakistan with Russia and Guyana as vice-chairs, approved a travel exemption specifically for this visit.