India-Taliban ties: Muttaqi’s visit highlights growing closeness
The Tribune Editorial: Jaishankar had lauded the Afghan Foreign Minister’s condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack.
THE upcoming visit of Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to India underlines the importance given by the Taliban regime to a key regional partner. He will be the first top-level visitor from Kabul after the collapse of the Ashraf Ghani government in 2021. It’s a small victory for the Taliban that the UN Security Council has exempted Muttaqi from a travel ban. His role in the strengthening of bilateral ties has been significant; he met Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in Dubai in January and had a phone conversation with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in May. Soon after the chat, Jaishankar had lauded Muttaqi’s condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack and “his firm rejection of attempts to create distrust between India and Afghanistan”. This was a reference to false reports circulated by Pakistan about Indian “missile attacks” on Afghan territory.
