Afghan Foreign Minister’s planned visit to Pakistan cancelled, likely due to UNSC travel ban

A UN Security Council travel ban is widely thought to be behind the cancellation of a planned visit by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to Pakistan, according to a media report.

Mr. Muttaqi was expected in Islamabad on August 4, continuing the recent high-level contacts initiated by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s visit to Kabul in April, a move that led to a thaw in bilateral ties, Dawn reported.

The rapprochement was brokered by China.

However, diplomatic sources said that the United States had blocked a UN Security Council exemption that would have allowed Mr. Muttaqi to travel to Pakistan, the paper said on Friday (August 8, 2025).

As the Afghan Foreign Minister is under international sanctions, he requires special approval from the UN sanctions committee for any foreign travel.

Citing sources, the paper said that Washington delayed its decision until the last moment and ultimately refused to grant the waiver, scuttling the trip.

As a key player in the UN Security Council, the U.S. holds significant sway in the 1988 Sanctions Committee, which manages sanctions like travel bans, asset freezes, and arms embargoes targeting Taliban-linked individuals and groups under UNSC Resolution 1988 (2011).

It is believed the U.S. blocked the waiver for Taliban’s FM to visit Pakistan, driven by worries about their growing ties with China, the paper said.

The U.S. has often clashed with China and Russia at the committee, who advocate for more lenient exemptions, creating tensions within the committee’s efforts to promote stability in Afghanistan.

When asked whether Washington had blocked Mr. Muttaqi’s visit to Pakistan at a recent briefing, a State Department spokesperson simply responded with: “We do not comment on rumours.”

The Foreign Office on Friday hinted that “procedural issues” had hindered the trip.

“There are certain procedural issues we are working through,” Foreign Office spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan said when asked by journalists about media reports on Mr. Muttaqi’s aborted trip.

The spokesperson also clarified that no official dates had been confirmed for the Afghan Foreign Minister’s visit, so there was “no question of cancellation or postponement”.

Mr. Khan said that both Kabul and Islamabad are working to address the matter and added, “Once these procedural matters are resolved, we look forward to welcoming the Afghan Foreign Minister to Pakistan.”