New Delhi: The acting foreign minister of Afghanistan, Amir Khan Muttaqi, will meet External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar Friday, while a meeting with National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval has not been ruled out. The meeting with Jaishankar, will be one where the flag of the Taliban regime, white with the Shahada, will likely not be seen.
The meeting with Jaishankar will be the highest level of interaction between India and Kabul, since the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in August 2021.
Muttaqi arrived in India early Thursday morning, and is set to remain in the country till 15 October, the date the waiver from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) lapses.
After his official engagement in New Delhi, Muttaqi is likely to travel to Deoband and Agra over the weekend, to visit the Taj Mahal and the Islamic seminary—Darul Uloom Deoband.
India has not recognised the Taliban regime, however, its cooperation and interaction with the Taliban has increased over the last 10 months, following the Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan that killed 46 people in December 2024. New Delhi has maintained a technical mission in Kabul to coordinate its humanitarian efforts including assistance in the form of food, basic medicines and more recently disaster relief following an earthquake in August.
Muttaqi arrived in New Delhi Thursday at the invitation of the Indian government, according to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. He was received by M. Anand Prakash, joint secretary of the Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran division (PAI) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in line with the protocol accorded to a visiting foreign minister.
“Warm welcome to Afghan Foreign Minister, Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi on his arrival in New Delhi. We look forward to engaging in discussions with him on bilateral relations and regional issues,” Randhir Jaiswal, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement Thursday.
Warm welcome to Afghan Foreign Minister, Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi on his arrival in New Delhi.
We look forward to engaging discussions with him on bilateral relations and regional issues. pic.twitter.com/Z4eo6dTctJ
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) October 9, 2025
Muttaqi has been accompanied with a five-member delegation including Ahmadullah Zaid, the acting deputy industry and commerce minister, Noor Ahmad Noor, director general of the first political division in the Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and director of public relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Zia Ahmad Takal.
India has taken a number of steps to improve ties with Kabul, including the resumption of visa services for Afghans looking to travel to the South Asian country for healthcare purposes. On 29 April, a new visa module was implemented for Afghan nationals looking to travel to India, allowing them to apply under six categories.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met with Muttaqi earlier this year, when he had promised to look into the potential resumption of development projects in the Central Asian country. Before the return of the Taliban in 2021, India had invested almost $3 billion in projects across Afghanistan.
Jaishankar and Muttaqi held a telephonic conversation in May 2025 after Operation Sindoor ended. It was the first call between the two.
However, despite the positive momentum, the Afghan missions in India are still staffed by those appointed by the previous government led by Ashraf Ghani, which is still internationally recognised, or by individuals in a temporary capacity. New Delhi is yet to grant full diplomatic recognition for those appointed by the Taliban.
China was the first country to accept the credentials presented by a diplomat appointed by the Taliban in 2024. In July 2025, Russia formally recognised the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. However, despite countries moving cautiously to open diplomatic ties with the Taliban, Muttaqi’s New Delhi visit is unlikely to see India formally recognise the regime in Kabul.
Muttaqi arrived in India from the Russian capital of Moscow where he participated for the first time in the Moscow Format of Consultation on Afghanistan. India, a participant in the Moscow Format, was represented by its Ambassador to Russia Vinay Kumar.
India sought the waiver for Muttaqi’s travel with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as he is internationally sanctioned and not allowed to leave Afghanistan without it. An earlier attempt by New Delhi for a waiver in August was blocked by Pakistan, as reported by ThePrint.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)