Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has traveled to India for meetings with senior Indian officials, the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
According to the ministry, Muttaqi is expected to meet with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and other top officials to discuss political and economic cooperation between the two sides.
This marks Muttaqi’s first official visit to India since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Sources within the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry told Amu TV that discussions are expected to focus on the possible transfer of the Afghan embassy in New Delhi to Taliban control and the upgrading of diplomatic relations between India and the Taliban government.
The move comes amid growing concern from human rights advocates and Afghan citizens, who have repeatedly urged the international community to ensure that any engagement with the Taliban prioritizes human rights and women’s freedoms in Afghanistan.
A previous Amu TV investigation revealed that talks between India and the Taliban had entered a more advanced phase in early 2025, with both sides discussing formal diplomatic ties and the potential handover of the embassy in New Delhi — negotiations that drew sharp criticism from Afghan activists and members of civil society. They warned that diplomatic normalization with the Taliban should not come at the expense of the Afghan people’s rights or signal acceptance of the Taliban’s repressive policies.
The visit comes after the UN Security Council granted Muttaqi a travel exemption from October 9 to 16, allowing him to attend diplomatic engagements abroad.
India, a former key supporter of Afghanistan’s ousted republic, has cautiously engaged with the Taliban since reopening its technical mission in Kabul in 2022 to oversee humanitarian aid. However, it has yet to officially recognize the Taliban government.
Muttaqi’s India visit follows his participation in the 7th Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan, where regional countries including Russia, China, Iran, and Pakistan discussed Afghanistan’s political stability and counterterrorism cooperation.
