Who is Amir Khan Muttaqi? Taliban foreign minister slated to visit India

The two spoke for the first time on May 15, after ‘Operation Sindoor’.

What’s on Muttaqi-Jaishankar meeting agenda?

While there is no statement yet from the External Affairs Ministry on Muttaqi’s visit, the talks are likely to cover a wide range of topics, including India’s plans on relations with the Taliban, counter-terrorism, trade, etc.

India has been regularly sending aid to Afghanistan, but the relations between the two has remained mostly tense. The less-than-cordial ties even resulted in the shutdown of the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi in 2023. This matter is likely to be on Muttaqi’s agenda during the talks.

Muttaqi is also likely to press for the resumption of government-level engagement between the two nations. Muttaqi could also seek further cooperation from India in the fields of medicine, infrastructure projects, and development initiatives.

Who Is Amir Khan Muttaqi?

Amir Khan Muttaqi is the son of Haji Nadir Khan. Born in 1970 in the Helmand province’s Zarghun in Afghanistan, Muttaqi’s family moved to Pakistan during the Soviet-Afghanistan war. There, he studied religious and traditional sciences in various schools for Afghan refugees.

According to the Taliban government’s website, Muttaqi was an active “jihadi” against Soviets in Helmand.

He has been the leading negotiator and spokesperson for the Taliban in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Jeddah, and Saudi Arabia. In 1994, he served as the Director General of the radio station in Kandahar and was an important member of the Taliban’s High Council.

He has also served as the Director General of Information and Culture in Kandahar during the previous Taliban regime.

From the homepage

Amid internal strife in Naxal ranks, Amit Shah draws the red line: ‘What talks? Drop weapons or…’

Former J&K CM Farooq Abdullah hospitalised in Srinagar

Hyderabad youth in US for Master’s degree shot dead at gas station, where he worked part-time