Agra / New Delhi: Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, was scheduled to visit Agra on Sunday to tour the Taj Mahal, but the plan was called off at the last minute. No reason has been cited for the same so far.
According to Agra’s Deputy Commissioner of Police, Sonam Kumar, the cancellation order came from Delhi, but he was unable to specify any underlying reason.
Under the original plan, Muttaqi was to spend approximately one hour and a half at the monument, followed by a lunch at a star-category hotel near the eastern gate, before returning to Delhi.
The cancellation comes amid a six-day visit by the Taliban minister to India. He landed in New Delhi on Thursday. During this trip, he has already held high-level talks, including with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and delivered a press conference.
The press event stirred controversy when no women journalists were permitted to attend. In response, India’s Ministry of External Affairs clarified that it had “no involvement” in that decision.
Muttaqi is the first senior Taliban official to visit India since the Taliban seized power in 2021, though India has not recognized the Taliban government. Meanwhile, during his visit he also visited the Darul Uloom Deoband seminary in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district.
As of now, both the Indian and Afghan sides have stayed silent on the specific reasons behind the abrupt cancellation of the Taj Mahal stop.