On 6-day India Tour, Afghan FM Muttaqi to Visit Darul Deoband
Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, who arrived in India on a 6-day state visit Thursday October 09, 2025, has a tour of Darul Deoband in his itinerary
[Upon his arrival in India, Amir Khan Muttagi was received by MEA Joint Secretary Anand Prakash.]
New Delhi: Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, who arrived in India on a 6-day state visit Thursday October 09, 2025, has a tour of Darul Deoband in his itinerary.
Amir Khan Muttaqi is visiting India at the invitation of Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Upon his arrival in India, Amir Khan Muttagi was received by MEA Joint Secretary Anand Prakash.
During his stay in India, Muttaqi is schedule to visit Darul Deoband Deoband and Taj Mahal besides meeting his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and other officials in New Delhi.
Muttaqi is slated to visit Darul Deoband in Deoband and Taj Mahal in Agra - both in Uttar Pradesh, on Saturday October 11, 2025.
Amir Khan Muttaqi’s visit to India is first by a top level Taliban Minister after it formed the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan, defeating the United States and its allies in 2021.
India Afghanistan Relation
India Afghanistan relation has always been old and very strong. India also had huge investments in Afghanistan during the government of Hamid Karzai and before.
The relation between the two countries strained after Taliban came to power in 2021 though behind the scene talks were underway.
The Afghanistan Embassy in New Delhi was also non-operational. However, the governments in India and Afghanistan tried to improve the bilateral relations, first through backdoor diplomacy and now with public and official visit.
Interestinlgy, India made its first direct contact with the Taliban in 2013, when it issued a visa to senior Taliban leader and the group's ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, for a conference.
Then in January 2024, India's foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had met with Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai, a move seen as India's pragmatic shift in foreign policy to court Taliban 2.0.
Muttaq's India visit also comes at a time when Pakistan's relation with Afghanistan is strained.
Taliban and Darul Uloom Deoband
Taliban and Darul Uloom Deoband share ideological roots. Mullah Omar, Taliban Founder and Emir, was a graduate from Darul Uloom Deoband.
Some other Taliban leaders also attained their education from Darul Uloom - established in 1866 by Maulana Mohammad Qasim Nanautawi.
Darul Deoband has its alumni spread across the world. One of Pakistan's top political leader and Cheif of Jamiat-ul-Islam, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, also had a very close contact with the Deoband clerics so much so that he visited the Darul Uloom back in 2011 to resolve their internal feud.
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