 "Watch: Afghan FM Muttaqi visits Darul Uloom Deoband, vows 'stronger ties in future’")
Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Maulana Amir Khan Muttaqi on Saturday visited the Darul Uloom Deoband in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district — his first trip to India since the Taliban took power in 2021.
Muttaqi, who is on a six-day visit, was warmly received by the seminary administration, which had listed 15 prominent Ulema (Islamic scholars) to welcome him amid tight security arrangements.
Speaking to reporters after his visit, Muttaqi thanked the seminary for its reception and said he hoped for “stronger ties in the future” between India and Afghanistan. “I am thankful for such a grand welcome and the affection shown by the people here. I hope that India-Afghanistan ties advance further. We will be sending new diplomats, and I hope you people will visit Kabul as well,” he said.
Muttaqi met senior clerics and scholars at Deoband, including Maulana Mufti Abul Qasim Nomani, the seminary’s rector. Inside the central library, he attended a scholarly session on Hadith (Prophetic traditions) and was later conferred the Hadith Sanad (certificate of authority), allowing him to use the title “Qasmi,” denoting his academic connection to Darul Uloom.
Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind president Maulana Arshad Madani described the visit as “educational and spiritual,” saying, “We have a scholarly and academic relationship with Afghanistan. He has come to visit his alma mater and hold discussions with us.”
Muttaqi’s visit follows his meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Delhi on Friday — a significant step in India’s engagement with the Taliban government. Both sides discussed upgrading India’s “technical mission” in Kabul to a full-fledged embassy and resuming diplomatic exchanges.
The visit to Darul Uloom Deoband — long regarded as an intellectual and spiritual influence among Afghan scholars — carries symbolic importance, highlighting Kabul’s intent to rebuild religious and diplomatic ties with New Delhi after years of tension.
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