FM Muttaqi to visit India after UN travel ban waiver

India is set to host the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, next week following a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) decision to temporarily lift his travel ban.

Muttaqi, sanctioned in 2001 for his role in the IEA’s activities during their previous regime, had planned to visit India in August but was unable to secure the required exemption. On 30 September, however, the UNSC’s 1988 Sanctions Committee—currently chaired by Pakistan—approved a waiver allowing him to travel to New Delhi between 9 and 16 October, according to The Independent, a British newspaper.

This will mark the first official visit by a senior IEA leader to India since its return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. He is scheduled to meet Indian external affairs minister S. Jaishankar in New Delhi on 10 October for high-level talks.

The UNSC committee oversees travel bans, asset freezes, and arms embargoes imposed on IEA leaders. Exemptions like Muttaqi’s are granted case by case and have previously allowed him to visit countries such as China and Russia.

India has cautiously expanded its engagement with the IEA, holding talks with its leaders in Doha and Kabul over the past two years. Muttaqi’s upcoming visit signals a further step in New Delhi’s pragmatic approach toward the IEA’s rule.