Overview

• Akhtar said he “hangs his head in shame,” singling out the reverent reception at Darul Uloom Deoband and invoking the Taliban’s bans on girls’ education.
• Muttaqi’s visit, his first to India since 2021, runs Oct. 9–16 after a temporary exemption from UN travel sanctions.
• External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Muttaqi and announced India will move to upgrade its technical mission in Kabul to a full embassy.
• An initial Afghan embassy press event in Delhi barred women journalists, drawing criticism, before a second inclusive briefing was convened; the exclusion was later called a technical issue.
• During public appearances, Muttaqi expressed hopes for closer ties, spoke of sending new diplomats, and invited Indians to visit Kabul.