KABUL: Afghanistan’s Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi left for New Delhi on Wednesday, the ministry said, in what would be the first visit to India by a Taliban leader since they seized power in 2021.

Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi will hold talks with Indian Foreign Minister Subra­hmanyam Jaisha­nkar and other officials on political, economic and trade issues, the Afghan foreign ministry added.

The visit comes just a day after Muttaqi attended a regional meeting in Moscow where Afgha­nistan’s neighbours including Pakistan, Iran, China and several Central Asian countries issued a joint statement opposing the deployment of foreign military infrastructure in the region. The statement was regarded as a signal of opposition to US President Donald Trump’s stated objective to retake control of the Bagram military base near Kabul.

So far, Russia is the only country to have formally recognised the Taliban administration.

Historically, India and Afghanistan had friendly relations but New Delhi shut its embassy in Kabul after the 2021 US withdrawal from the war-shattered country and the return to power of the Taliban.

India opened a small mission a year later to facilitate trade, medical support and humanitarian aid.

New Delhi does not officially recognise the Taliban government but has taken tentative steps to thaw ties with meetings and talks between senior officials in their respective foreign ministries.

Muttaqi’s trip was made possible after the UN Security Council Com­mittee temporarily lifted a travel ban on him to allow diplomatic engagements abroad, India’s foreign ministry said last week.

Discussions during Muttaqi’s trip will centre on bilateral cooperation, trade exchanges, exports of dry fruit, facilities in the health sector, consular services and various ports, the Afghan Taliban foreign ministry said last week.

Bar on social media

On the other hand, access to several social media sites, including Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, have been “intentionally restricted” in Afghanistan, internet watchdog NetBlocks said on Wednesday.

Social media sites have been intermittently accessible on smartphones since Tuesday, AFP journalists reported, a week after a 48-hour nationwide internet and phone blackout was imposed by Taliban authorities.

“The restrictions are now confirmed on multiple providers, the pattern shows an intentional restri­ction,” said NetBlocks, a watchdog organisation that monitors cybersecurity and internet governance.

The disruption is “primarily impacting mobile with some fix-lines also affected”.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2025