Harsha Kakar

kakarharsha@gmail.com

The visit of the Taliban interim foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, to India this week will be closely watched across the region as it would bring India-Afghan relations, quietly nurtured over the years, into the open. In Jan this year, the Indian foreign secretary, Vikram Misri had met Muttaqi in Dubai. In May, there was a tele-conversation between Muttaqi and Jaishankar. Afghanistan had offered condolences for the Pahalgam attack. Other interactions too have occurred over the years.

The visit of Muttaqi to India has been under discussion for some time. The hold up was Muttaqi, like other Taliban leaders, has been under international sanctions since 2001. Sanction to travel has to be granted by the UNSC on a case-by-case basis. India negotiated the

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