Red Carpet for Afghanistan's Foreign Minister, PoK Erupts & Pakistan Warns India

Amid Pakistan’s issues with both India and Afghanistan, the Indian government has laid the red carpet for the Taliban government. Afghanistan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is on a week-long visit to India and is being treated as a state guest ignoring the fact that the Taliban government is not yet recognized by any country in the world, including India. Muttaqi has invited India to invest in Afghanistan's minerals and requested New Delhi to help facilitate trade through the opening of the Wagah border, calling it the 'fastest trade route' between the two countries. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on 12 Oct, Muttaqi said, 'I met the Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and talked about economy, trade, and other issues. During the meeting, the EAM announced the upgrading of their mission in Kabul to Embassy level and the diplomats of Kabul will arrive in New Delhi.' A delegation of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus met Muttaqi and requested Afghanistan to restore and maintain historical Gurdwaras and temples. Meanwhile, in an escalation of Pakistan-Afghanistan border tensions, firefights broke out along their border on 11 Oct, with Taliban-led Afghan forces seizing multiple Pakistani Army outposts along the Durand Line, including in the volatile Kunar and Helmand provinces. On 2 Oct, in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) at least 12 civilians were killed as Pakistani security forces opened fire on protesters. The protests, which started over the government's failure to meet 38 key demands, have snowballed into a broader agitation against excesses by the military, bringing the region to a standstill. Concurrently, on 5 Oct, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (BJP's parent organization) chief Mohan Bhagwat said, 'PoK is a room in India that has been occupied by strangers, it must be taken back.' In response, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said, 'I do not want escalation, but the risks are real, and I am not denying that. If it comes to war, God willing, we will achieve a better result than before.’ All these developments are a matter of grave concern for Panjab but the region seems to have no say in the developments (earlier coverage).