By Natiq Malikzada

During Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi ’s first day in India, he met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi , addressed a press conference at the Afghan embassy with no women present (after much outrage, a subsequent one was held with women present), giving a glimpse of what gender apartheid looks like, and then travelled to Darul Uloom Deoband, a symbolic pilgrimage to the ideological wellspring that has shaped generations of extremist leaders, where hundreds of Deobandi followers greeted him with open enthusiasm. This is not a routine visit. It’s a message.

A reminder: The Taliban are the de facto authority in Kabul, but not a democratically elected, internationally recognised government. India has said repeatedly that it has not recognise

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