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According to sources, Pakistan failed to secure the required UNSC travel waiver that would have allowed the Taliban leaders to legally enter the country
The failure to follow through on the visit may also further complicate Pakistan’s own internal security situation. (AP)
Pakistan, in a significant diplomatic reversal, has postponed the much-anticipated visit of a high-level Afghan Taliban delegation just hours before their scheduled arrival in Islamabad.
The delegation, led by Afghanistan’s interim foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and interim interior minister Siraj-Ud-Din Haqqani, was due to arrive in Pakistan on Monday for a three-day visit aimed at strengthening bilateral ties, addressing cross-border terrorism, and finding peaceful solutions to ongoing tensions in the region.
The abrupt cancellation has been officially attributed to unspecified “technical issues.” However, top diplomatic sources in both Islamabad and Kabul told CNN-News18 that the real reasons lie in geopolitical pressure, particularly from the United States, and complications linked to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) travel sanctions that both Muttaqi and Haqqani are subject to.
According to sources, Pakistan failed to secure the required UNSC travel waiver that would have allowed the Taliban leaders to legally enter the country. Under UNSC Resolution 1988, both ministers are sanctioned individuals subject to travel bans due to their affiliations with the Taliban regime. Although Muttaqi has received temporary exemptions in the past to travel to countries like Qatar, China, and Turkey, the waiver process is complex and requires approval from the UN sanctions committee, where any member state can object.
In this case, intelligence and diplomatic sources claim that the United States intervened, raising a “red flag” that effectively blocked the waiver’s approval. The US has been cautious about allowing Taliban officials international legitimacy through diplomatic engagements, particularly those involving Pakistan, which Washington sees as a key player in regional power dynamics.
Additionally, a source told CNN-News18 that the “China factor” may have played a role in Washington’s decision to oppose the Taliban delegation’s travel. The source pointed to growing strategic coordination between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China, especially after recent trilateral meetings in June, which the US allegedly views as an emerging regional bloc that could counterbalance its influence in South Asia and the broader Indo-Pacific region.
The Taliban leaders had been invited by Pakistan’s foreign minister Ishaq Dar during his official visit to Kabul in May. The agenda for the Islamabad talks included a broad array of issues: increasing bilateral trade, managing the Afghan refugee population in Pakistan, counterterrorism cooperation, and, most notably, tackling the growing threat posed by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)—a banned militant group that shares ideological ties with the Afghan Taliban and has carried out a series of deadly attacks inside Pakistan over the past year.
The Taliban leadership had expressed a strong interest in resolving the TTP issue through jirgas—traditional tribal negotiations involving elders and local leaders—which they believed could pave the way for a longer-term peace on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. This approach had reportedly gained traction among certain policymakers in Islamabad, who see military action alone as insufficient to curb the threat.
Sources further revealed that during the now-cancelled visit, Muttaqi and Haqqani were scheduled to meet with prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, foreign minister Ishaq Dar, and other senior security officials. The discussions were expected to lay the groundwork for more structured cooperation on cross-border security, economic integration, and humanitarian issues.
For Kabul, the cancelled visit represents a missed opportunity to solidify relations with a key neighbour at a time when the Taliban government is grappling with international isolation, a worsening economic crisis, and increasing internal dissent. For Islamabad, it reflects the tightrope it walks between maintaining relations with the de facto Afghan rulers and navigating the expectations of Western powers, especially the United States.
The failure to follow through on the visit may also further complicate Pakistan’s own internal security situation. The TTP has stepped up its attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and tribal areas, and Islamabad has frequently accused Kabul of turning a blind eye to the group’s safe havens inside Afghanistan. The Taliban, in turn, insist they do not allow Afghan soil to be used against any country — a claim that has been met with increasing skepticism in Pakistani security circles.
No new date has been announced for the postponed visit, and it remains unclear whether Pakistan will seek to revive the waiver process through the UNSC or if future talks will be held through backchannel diplomacy or in a third country.
The developments underscore the fragile nature of regional diplomacy in post-US Afghanistan, where every move is closely monitored—and often influenced—by global powers. While the Taliban may have gained military control over Afghanistan, their struggle for international recognition and regional legitimacy remains far from over.
Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18
Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18
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- Location :
Islamabad, Pakistan
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