Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s Agra visit cancelled without explanation, says administration

In the first high-level diplomatic engagement since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, Muttaqi visited India and met S Jaishankar in New Delhi on Friday.

Afghanistan’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi’s scheduled visit to Agra on Sunday was cancelled at the last minute, with no reason cited, according to officials from the Agra district administration’s protocol unit, reported PTI.

Muttaqi, a senior Taliban leader, was expected to travel by road from Delhi to Agra’s Shilpgram and visit the Taj Mahal, where he was slated to spend about 90 minutes before returning to the capital. However, the visit was called off, confirmed Agra district magistrate Aravind Mallapa Bangari, who told PTI that he “can’t comment further” on the matter.

Security arrangements around the Taj Mahal had been tightened ahead of the planned visit. According to local officials, a delegation from the Muslim community had also sought permission to meet Muttaqi during his Agra stop, but the request was denied due to “security reasons.”

Muttaqi arrived in Delhi on Thursday for an official visit, becoming the first senior minister from the Taliban government to travel to India since the group returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. India, however, has not formally recognised the Taliban regime.

Before his planned Agra trip, Muttaqi visited Darul Uloom Deoband in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur on Saturday, one of the largest Islamic seminaries in South Asia. The visit drew attention for its symbolism, given Deoband’s historic links with Islamic scholarship and its influence across the region.