Pakistan at UNSC Blocks Taliban Minister's Visit to India

Pakistan opposed Muttaqi's exemption request, apparently with support from Washington

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA

The planned visit of Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to India later this month has been cancelled after the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1988 (2011) declined to grant him a travel ban exemption, diplomatic sources confirmed.

Muttaqi, who belongs to the Sulaimankhel, a sub-tribe of Pashtun, was scheduled to travel to India in the last week of August, with New Delhi having already completed "all logistical and diplomatic preparations" for the visit. Everything, sources say, was awaited on the basis of the decision from the UNSC's travel committee. Once that was granted, the exact dates would have been finalized.

With the permission refused for now, it is expected that the visit might happen in the coming months after the process is initiated again. The 1988 Sanctions Committee, which oversees measures against designated Taliban figures, comprises all 15 members of the Security Council and operates by consensus, meaning a single objection blocks approval. The Committee is currently chaired by Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, with Guyana and the Russian Federation serving as vice-chairs for 2025.

It is understood that Pakistan opposed Muttaqi's exemption request, apparently with support from Washington, D.C., preventing consensus and leading New Delhi to withdraw its invitation.