NEW DELHI: Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi began an official visit to India on Thursday, the first by a senior Afghan leader since 2021.
Like all other countries, except for Russia, India does not officially recognize Afghanistan’s Taliban administration, which took over the country four years ago, when its Western-backed regime collapsed, and US-led troops withdrew after two decades of military occupation.
Most of the Taliban leaders, including Muttaqi, have been sanctioned by the UN, but the Security Council said last month that he was granted “an exemption to the travel ban” to visit New Delhi from Oct. 9 to 16.
He was offered a “warm welcome” by Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, who said in a statement that the ministry looked forward to “engaging discussions with him on bilateral relations and regional issues.”
Muttaqi, who met with India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in Dubai in January, is expected to hold talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
