Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi will visit India on October 9, marking the first senior-level Taliban delegation to New Delhi since 2021. The visit comes after months of backchannel diplomacy and growing humanitarian aid from India.
In a major diplomatic development, Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi of the Taliban government is set to visit India on October 9. This will be the first high-level visit from Kabul to New Delhi since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021. The United Nations Security Council has also granted Muttaqi a temporary travel exemption between October 9 and 16, noting the significance of the visit for both Kabul and regional powers. “On 30 September 2025, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1988 (2011) approved an exemption to the travel ban for Amir Khan Motaqi (TAi . 026) to visit New Delhi, India, from 9 to 16 October 2025,” the United Nations Security Council wrote in a statement.
As per the information, Indian diplomatic circles have been preparing for this visit for several months. Since January, Indian officials including Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri have held multiple rounds of dialogue with Muttaqi and other Taliban leaders in neutral locations such as Dubai. In May, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke with Muttaqi after India’s Operation Sindoor against Pakistan, marking the first ministerial-level contact since 2021. During that conversation, Jaishankar thanked the Taliban for condemning the Pahalgam terror attack and reaffirmed India’s “traditional friendship with the Afghan people.”
Taliban condemnation of terror attacks
Earlier in April, the Taliban strongly condemned the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir during a meeting with Indian officials in Kabul. This statement was seen as a significant shift, indicating that India and Afghanistan were aligned on countering Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Since then, New Delhi has expanded humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, including food, medicines and infrastructure cooperation.
India’s humanitarian outreach to Afghanistan
Following the devastating earthquake in Afghanistan in September, India was among the first nations to respond and sent 1,000 family tents and 15 tonnes of food supplies. Soon after, an additional 21 tonnes of relief material, including medicines, hygiene kits, blankets and generators were dispatched. Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, India has supplied Afghanistan with nearly 50,000 tonnes of wheat, over 330 tonnes of medicines and vaccines, 40,000 litres of pesticides and other essentials, offering critical support to millions of Afghans facing severe hardship.
Strategic implications for the region
It is to be noted here that Muttaqi’s upcoming visit is being seen as a diplomatic setback for Pakistan, which has traditionally maintained strong influence over Kabul. Relations between Islamabad and the Taliban soured earlier this year after Pakistan deported more than 80,000 Afghan refugees, creating space for India to expand its role. Analysts say the visit signals Kabul’s intent to diversify its foreign ties and reduce reliance on Pakistan. For India, direct engagement with the Taliban is a calculated step aimed at safeguarding its security interests, countering terror threats and balancing Chinese and Pakistani influence in the region.
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