Oct 10 \u2014 Acting Afghanistan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi begins his first visit to India on Friday, a nearly week-long trip expected to blend political, economic and cultural engagements.<\/p>\n
Muttaqi is scheduled to hold delegation-level talks with external affairs minister S. Jaishankar in New Delhi and meet Afghanistan-origin traders based in India. Over the weekend, he may travel to Deoband in Uttar Pradesh, where a small number of Afghan students are enrolled, according to people familiar with the plan.<\/p>\n
While no major announcements are anticipated beyond the prospect of additional Indian development assistance for Kabul, the visit is significant as the Taliban administration seeks broader international acceptance and warmer ties with New Delhi. Afghan experts note that \u201cTaliban 2.0\u201d has largely avoided anti-India rhetoric and actions since taking power.<\/p>\n
The itinerary under consideration includes stops in Agra, Mumbai and Hyderabad, alongside a session with an Indian business chamber to explore trade and investment opportunities. The city visits are yet to be finalised. Afghanistan maintains consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad.<\/p>\n
Chabahar port is expected to feature prominently in talks. The facility remains Afghanistan\u2019s most viable sea gateway for commerce with India. New Delhi has secured a US sanctions waiver for Chabahar through 28 October, after an earlier deadline of 29 September had been set for revocation, officials said.<\/p>\n
Muttaqi\u2019s trip follows this week\u2019s \u201cMoscow Format\u201d consultations on Afghanistan, where India aligned with aspects of Kabul\u2019s position, including security and regional connectivity priorities. Afghan representatives raised concerns about extremist threats and cross-border stability during the meeting.<\/p>\n
India has been a leading regional provider of humanitarian and reconstruction support to Afghanistan, including foodgrain, medical supplies and development assistance after the September 2025 earthquake. Kabul has formally conveyed priority needs in energy and infrastructure, to which India has responded positively, officials from both sides say.<\/p>\n
By contrast, relations between the Taliban administration and Pakistan remain strained amid recurring tensions along the Durand Line. Kabul also cites concerns over security incidents and inter-ethnic frictions across the border. Afghan officials allege that Pakistan has historically sought \u201cstrategic depth\u201d against India, a claim Islamabad denies; Kabul has linked these worries to threats posed by groups such as ISKP, al-Qaeda and LeT, issues it says were flagged in Moscow.<\/p>\n
Diplomats in New Delhi view Muttaqi\u2019s visit as a cautious step toward stabilising engagement: practical cooperation on trade routes and humanitarian support, without conferring formal recognition on the Taliban government. Further details of the programme and outcomes are expected after the Jaishankar\u2013Muttaqi talks.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Oct 10 \u2014 Acting Afghanistan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi begins his first visit to India on Friday, a nearly week-long trip expected to blend political, economic and cultural engagements. Muttaqi is scheduled to hold delegation-level talks with external affairs minister S. Jaishankar in New Delhi and meet Afghanistan-origin traders based in India. Over the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122872\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}