Why Afghanistan minister Amir Khan Muttaqi's Taj Mahal visit was cancelled abruptly

The scheduled visit of Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to Agra has been cancelled, official sources said on Sunday. However, they did not mention any reason, which led to the cancellation.

 

Muttaqi was expected to travel to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal on Sunday. As per the original plan, he was to leave Delhi around 8 am via the Yamuna Expressway and reach Shilpgram, near the monument's eastern gate, by 11 am. 

 

He was also expected to spend about an hour and a half at the site before returning to Delhi in the afternoon.

 

Agra district authorities had made elaborate security measures for the high-profile visit.

 

Speculations are rife on social media about the abrupt cancellation of the Afghanistan minister’s Taj Mahal visit, with some linking it to the intense overnight border clashes between his country’s forces and the Pakistani Army along the border.

 

Muttaqi is in India on a six-day visit aimed at engaging on bilateral and regional matters. On Saturday,  he visited Darul Uloom Deoband in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur, one of the most influential Islamic seminaries in South Asia.

 

Muttaqui’s visit was also mired in controversy after women journalists were allegedly barred from a press meet he had conducted on Friday at the Afghanistan embassy in Delhi. The press meet was convened hours after he met with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

 

Opposition parties termed the incident "unacceptable" and an "insult to women", and slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "silence" over the issue.

 

Muttaqi landed in the national capital on Thursday. He is the first senior Taliban minister to visit India after the group seized power four years back, though New Delhi has not yet recognised the Taliban set up.

 

On Sunday, Muttaqi will attend a meeting with industry and business representatives in Delhi, organised by a major chamber of commerce. 

 

He will have a separate meeting with National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval to discuss issues related to security, counterterrorism, humanitarian aid, and visas for Afghan students and businessmen. 

India