Taliban flag poses diplomatic dilemma ahead of Amir Khan Muttaqi’s first visit to India

But, when Taliban-ruled Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Muttaqi meets Jaishankar, the diplomatic protocol is to have both the Indian flag and the country flag of the visiting minister — behind them, and/or on the table. Since India doesn’t recognise the Taliban, officials are debating how to navigate this unusual situation, said sources.

In past meetings between Indian officials and Muttaqi in Kabul, the Taliban flag has been in the background. Indian officials navigated the issue during Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s meeting with Muttaqi in Dubai in January. At that time, they did not put any flag — neither the Indian Tricolour nor the Taliban flag.

But, when the setting is in Delhi, it poses a diplomatic challenge.

The UN Security Council has allowed Muttaqi to travel to New Delhi from October 9 to 16. Since Muttaqi is on the list of sanctioned individuals — applicable to Taliban leaders — under the UNSC Resolution 1988 (2011), he needs the approval.

The visit was being planned in September, but the UNSC committee did not grant him approval then. There is no official word yet from the Ministry of External Affairs on his visit this week.

Ahead of Muttaqi’s visit, India on Tuesday joined the Taliban, Pakistan, China and Russia to oppose US President Donald Trump’s bid to take over the Bagram air base in Afghanistan. While not naming Bagram, a sharply worded joint statement issued by participants of the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan said: “They (the participants) called unacceptable the attempts by countries to deploy their military infrastructure in Afghanistan and neighboring states, since this does not serve the interests of regional peace and stability.”

Muttaqi’s visit follows his conversation with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on May 15, days after India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire in the wake of Operation Sindoor after the Pahalgam terror attack — the Kabul regime had condemned the terror attack. This was the first political-level contact since the Taliban captured power in Kabul in August 2021.