Afghan Foreign Minister’s deliberate go to to Pakistan cancelled, possible attributable to UNSC journey ban

A UN Security Council journey ban is broadly considered behind the cancellation of a deliberate go to by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to Pakistan, in accordance with a media report.

Mr. Muttaqi was anticipated in Islamabad on August 4, persevering with the latest high-level contacts initiated by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s go to to Kabul in April, a transfer that led to a thaw in bilateral ties, Dawn reported.

The rapprochement was brokered by China.

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

As the Afghan Foreign Minister is below worldwide sanctions, he requires particular approval from the UN sanctions committee for any overseas journey.

Citing sources, the paper mentioned that Washington delayed its determination till the final second and in the end refused to grant the waiver, scuttling the journey.

As a key participant within the UN Security Council, the U.S. holds important sway within the 1988 Sanctions Committee, which manages sanctions like journey bans, asset freezes, and arms embargoes concentrating on Taliban-linked people and teams below UNSC Resolution 1988 (2011).

It is believed the U.S. blocked the waiver for Taliban’s FM to go to Pakistan, pushed by worries about their rising ties with China, the paper mentioned.

The U.S. has usually clashed with China and Russia on the committee, who advocate for extra lenient exemptions, creating tensions throughout the committee’s efforts to advertise stability in Afghanistan.

When requested whether or not Washington had blocked Mr. Muttaqi’s go to to Pakistan at a latest briefing, a State Department spokesperson merely responded with: “We don’t touch upon rumours.”

The Foreign Office on Friday hinted that “procedural points” had hindered the journey.

“There are sure procedural points we’re working by,” Foreign Office spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan mentioned when requested by journalists about media studies on Mr. Muttaqi’s aborted journey.

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

Mr. Khan mentioned that each Kabul and Islamabad are working to deal with the matter and added, “Once these procedural issues are resolved, we sit up for welcoming the Afghan Foreign Minister to Pakistan.”