In a significant diplomatic development, Taliban Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi is set to visit India, marking the first-ever official engagement between New Delhi and the Taliban regime. The trip, cleared after the UN Security Council’s Taliban Sanctions Committee granted him an exemption on September 30, is being closely watched as it signals a potential new chapter in India-Afghanistan relations.
Muttaqi will be in New Delhi from October 9 to 16, where he is scheduled to meet India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and is also likely to hold talks with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. The visit is being seen as a diplomatic breakthrough, coming after years of strained ties between India and the Taliban.
(Also Read: Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi To Visit India In Historic First Since 2021)
Who is Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi?
Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, son of Haji Nadir Khan, was born on March 7, 1970, in Zarghun village of Nad Ali district, Helmand province. He received his early education at the village mosque. Following the communist coup and subsequent Soviet invasion, he migrated to neighboring Pakistan at the age of nine, where he continued his studies in religious and traditional sciences at various schools for Afghan refugees.
According to the official website of Afghanistan, in his early time, Muttaqi actively took part in the 'jihad' against the communist regime in Helmand.
In July 1995, Muttaqi became Kandahar’s Director General of Information and Culture; after Kabul’s fall in October 1996, he was appointed acting Minister of Information and Culture and spokesperson.
Aim Behind Visiting India
According to the IANS reports, counter-terrorism would get top billing during the diplomatic conversation between India and Afghanistan, and both have a common problem in Pakistan today. Hence, the discussions would largely revolve around counterterrorism and the ways to enhance ties when it comes to security.
