New Delhi (AFP) \u2013 Afghanistan’s UN-sanctioned foreign minister arrived in India on Thursday, the first visit by a top Taliban leader since they returned to power in 2021 following the withdrawal of US-led forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amir Khan Muttaqi’s trip — made possible after the UN Security Council granted him a travel waiver — is expected to be closely watched by India’s arch-rival Pakistan, as New Delhi deepens its engagement with the Taliban government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We look forward to engaging discussions with him on bilateral relations and regional issues,” Indian foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement, offering Muttaqi a “warm welcome”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Muttaqi, who met with India’s top career diplomat Vikram Misri in January in Dubai, is set to hold talks with Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Neither side has disclosed the agenda, but analysts say trade and security are likely to be at the forefront — though India is unlikely, for now, to extend formal recognition to the Taliban government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“New Delhi is eager to establish its influence in Kabul… and not be left behind by its arch-rivals, China and Pakistan,” International Crisis Group analyst Praveen Donthi told AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Muttaqi’s visit follows meetings in Russia — the only country so far to have officially recognised the Taliban administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But while the Taliban are “seeking diplomatic recognition and legitimacy”, Donthi said, others noted that was some way off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“India is not in a hurry to provide diplomatic recognition to the Taliban,” Rakesh Sood, India’s former ambassador to Kabul, told AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
India has long hosted tens of thousands of Afghans, many who fled the country after the Taliban returned to power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Afghanistan’s embassy in New Delhi shut in 2023, although consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad still operate limited services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
India says its mission in Kabul is limited to coordinating humanitarian aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic law may appear an unlikely match for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government, but India has sought to seize the opening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Diplomatic dynamics in South Asia are driven by long-running distrust between India and Pakistan, with New Delhi seeking to exploit divisions between Islamabad and Kabul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Kabul will be walking the tightrope between Islamabad and New Delhi, with the latter trying to get the most from the engagement without offering formal recognition,” Donthi added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pakistani analyst Wahed Faqiri called Muttaqi’s visit a “remarkable development”, coming as “tension between the Taliban and Pakistan is high”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Islamabad accuses neighbouring Afghanistan of failing to expel militants using Afghan territory to launch attacks on Pakistan, an accusation that authorities in Kabul deny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan fought a brief but deadly clash in May, their worst confrontation in decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The visit would certainly make Pakistan angrier and more suspicious,” Faqiri said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Moreover, it would strengthen India’s position in Afghanistan and India would try to drive a wedge between Taliban and Pakistan.”<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi (AFP) \u2013 Afghanistan’s UN-sanctioned foreign minister arrived in India on Thursday, the first visit by a top Taliban leader since they returned to power in 2021 following the withdrawal of US-led forces. Amir Khan Muttaqi’s trip — made possible after the UN Security Council granted him a travel waiver — is expected to […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":10569,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[83,80,84,396,342],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-afghanistan","category-asia","category-india","category-latest","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10568"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10568\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}