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Khalilzad says India’s warm welcome of Muttaqi deeply unsettles Pakistan
He went on to state that Afghanistan and Pakistan should turn to diplomacy to preclude the continuation of the recent attacks and counter-attacks and avoid escalation.
Former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, has said that India’s cordial reception of Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, has sparked unease in Pakistan and anger among ISIS-Khorasan (Daesh) militants.
In a post on X, Khalilzad said Muttaqi received an exceptionally warm welcome from Indian scholars, administrators, and students at a prominent Deobandi Islamic seminary, during his visit to India this week. He noted that the enthusiasm surrounding the Islamic Emirate minister’s reception was “deeply unsettling” for Pakistani officials and their allies, given Islamabad’s long-standing influence over Afghan affairs and its own tense relations with New Delhi.
Khalilzad added that the event not only caused diplomatic discomfort in Pakistan but also provoked fury within ISIS-K, which views any engagement between the Islamic Emirate and non-Muslim governments as betrayal. According to Khalilzad, the group recently released a 12-minute audio message condemning the IEA for “collaborating with Hindus and Christians against true Muslims.”
“That’s quite an insult to the 200 million Muslims of India,” he added.
He went on to state that Afghanistan and Pakistan should turn to diplomacy to preclude the continuation of the recent attacks and counter-attacks and avoid escalation.
“Siding with ISIS-K would not be a smart move for Pakistan. Afghanistan and Pakistan should cooperate against ISIS-K,” he said, adding that the “USA can and should assist.”
Muttaqi’s visit to India — his first since the Islamic Emirate returned to power in 2021 — marks a significant moment in Kabul-New Delhi relations, as India cautiously reengages with Afghanistan. His meetings have reportedly included religious scholars, political figures, and diplomatic representatives, focusing on regional stability, trade, and humanitarian cooperation.
India, which evacuated its embassy staff after the Islamic Emirate takeover, has since maintained limited diplomatic contact with Kabul through its technical mission in the capital, signaling a pragmatic approach to the new Afghan authorities.
Analysts say Muttaqi’s trip indicates a potential thaw between the two sides and reflects India’s growing interest in countering extremist threats while protecting its investments and development projects in Afghanistan.
The visit, however, comes at a sensitive time for Pakistan, which has seen escalating border tensions with the Islamic Emirate government and increasing attacks attributed to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — a group Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering.
The spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Zabiullah Mujahid announced on Wednesday that the security and defense forces of the Islamic Emirate will temporarily halt the “Rad al-Zulm” defensive operation on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr and also at the request of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar.
Zabiullah Mujahid said in a post on X: “The Islamic Emirate, while appreciating the goodwill of friendly and mediating countries, emphasizes that maintaining Afghanistan’s national security, territorial integrity, and the safety of Afghan lives is its national and religious duty, and it will bravely respond to any aggression in case of a threat.”
Meanwhile, Ataullah Tarar, Pakistan’s Minister of Information and Broadcasting, also announced that Pakistan has temporarily suspended its attacks on Afghanistan for Eid al-Fitr at the request of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey.
A UN official told Reuters on Wednesday that the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) estimated the number of victims of the bombing of Kabul’s Omid hospital by Pakistan at 143 dead.
However, health officials in Afghanistan had earlier reported that the attack killed more than 400 people and injured 265.
Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai has accused Pakistan of trying to create “anarchy and weakness” in Afghanistan, following a deadly airstrike on Kabul.
In an interview with UK’s Sky News, Karzai said Islamabad’s policies were aimed at keeping Afghanistan unstable and “downtrodden,” warning that such an approach would harm both countries.
He condemned the recent strike on a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, which Afghan officials say killed around 400 people, describing it as an “extremely unfortunate event” in the history of relations between the two neighbours.
Karzai said he personally heard the explosion, describing a “horrific sound” that shook his home and filled the surrounding area with smoke and dust.
The former leader, who governed Afghanistan from 2002 to 2014, said tensions between the two countries are longstanding, claiming Pakistan has struggled to maintain stable relations with successive Afghan governments.
He urged Pakistani leaders to change course and pursue a more constructive relationship, saying past strategies of interference and destabilisation had failed and would not succeed in the future.
Fighting between the two countries has intensified since late February, when Pakistan launched airstrikes it says targeted militant infrastructure. The United Nations estimates the violence has displaced more than 100,000 people.
Pakistan has denied targeting civilians, insisting its operations were aimed at militant sites and accusing Kabul of spreading “misleading” claims to deflect from alleged cross-Durand Line threats.
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