External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will on Friday meet his Afghanistan’s Taliban counterpart, Amir Khan Muttaqi, for the first time since the group took control over Kabul after the US military left after two decades of presence in 2021. Muttaqi arrived in New Delhi on Thursday for a week after the United Nations Security Council ( UNSC ) granted him temporary exemption from travel.

Muttaqi recently participated at an international meeting on Afghanistan in Russia with representatives from China, India, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in attendance. His visit to India is signal to New Delhi’s positive engagement with a crucial neighbour, and the Taliban administration’s efforts to seek international recognition.

On Thursday, Ministry o

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