Saturday, March 29, 2025
New Delhi, October 3, 2025 (3:29 PM IST) –
For the first time since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, a senior Taliban leader is set to visit India. Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, a top Taliban commander who remains under United Nations sanctions, has been granted special permission to travel to Delhi from October 9 to 16, 2025. This visit is being seen as the beginning of a new chapter in Indo-Afghan relations.
Amir Khan Muttaqi is considered one of the core Taliban commanders.
He rose to prominence during the Taliban’s emergence in the 1990s, serving first as a military commander, later in administrative roles, and eventually in diplomacy.
After the U.S. withdrawal in August 2021, the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, forcing President Ashraf Ghani to flee. Muttaqi played a central role during this transition.
He has been accused of supporting extremist ideologies, particularly the suppression of women’s rights and children’s education, which led the UN to sanction him on January 25, 2001, along with several other Taliban leaders.
During the Taliban’s first regime, education for girls was completely banned, and schools were converted into radical madrasas.
Muttaqi is often described as a hardliner who actively promoted these policies.
Despite his sanctioned status, the UN has granted him travel exemptions for diplomatic talks, which enabled his upcoming Delhi visit.
The timing of this invitation is seen as strategic:
India aims to engage directly with Afghanistan to curb terrorism flourishing in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
During External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s earlier visit to Afghanistan, he met Muttaqi, who condemned the Pahalgam terror attack, earning cautious appreciation in New Delhi.
A planned visit by Muttaqi in September 2025 was postponed as he had not yet received UN travel clearance.
This visit highlights India’s effort to balance diplomacy while dealing with a Taliban-led Afghanistan.
It signals India’s willingness to open dialogue channels despite international concerns about Taliban governance and human rights violations.
Analysts believe it may also reflect India’s attempt to counter Pakistan’s growing influence in Kabul.
