Delhi gears up for diplomatic game-changer with Afghan FM Amir Khan Muttaqi's visit

New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS) A day ahead of Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s much-awaited visit to New Delhi, preparations are underway to welcome the arrival of one of the “tallest” leaders in the Taliban’s power nomenclature.

Sources told IANS that three key officials from Kabul arrived in the capital in the last few days to chalk out the plan, including the officials FM Muttaqi will be meeting and others.

These three officials included a senior representative from trade, political and health.

Amongst them is Director General, First Political Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Afghanistan, Mufti Noor Ahmad Noor.

Notably, this is not his first visit to the capital, as he was also here, in New Delhi, a few weeks back.

Apart from him, there are two middle-level officials.

According to people aware of the matter, FM Muttaqi is likely to meet NSA Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar on October 10.

There is a high possibility that FM Muttaqi is likely to address a press conference to a selected group of journalists.

FM Muttaqi will be coming to New Delhi from Moscow, as he attended the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan on October 7.

As reported by IANS earlier, Muttaqi was supposed to visit India a few weeks ago but had failed to receive a travel ban exemption from the United Nations Security Council.

The visit is part of diplomatic engagements taking place between New Delhi and the Taliban regime over the past many months, including Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's meeting with Muttaqi in January, earlier this year.

Several key officials from Kabul have visited New Delhi in the past few months, including Afghanistan’s Deputy Minister of Medicine and Food, Hamdullah Zahid, who was in the Indian capital last month for the 11th edition of the International Exhibition on Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare.

Notably, another top Taliban official handling security and strategic affairs, whose identity cannot be revealed, visited the Indian capital last month and left only a few days back.

--IANS

sas/dan