Zia Ur Rehman Barq, the Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal, has publicly questioned the Uttar Pradesh government’s approach to the visit of Afghanistan’s Taliban foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi. Barq pointed out what he described as a “double standard” by the administration led by Yogi Adityanath.
In a statement on Facebook, Barq highlighted that the Uttar Pradesh government had previously filed a First Information Report (FIR) against his party leader, Shafiqur Rahman Barq (his grandfather), for allegedly making remarks in support of the Taliban. Now, he noted, the same government is set to provide full security to the Taliban minister during his visit to the state.
“When the Government of India itself invites and welcomes Taliban minister Muttaqi to India, no one raises any questions. But when Sambhal MP Dr Shafiqur Rahman Barq made a statement about the Taliban, Yogi Adityanath said he (Barq) should be ashamed, and the UP police filed an FIR,” Barq wrote in his post.
He further questioned the consistency of the government’s stance: “Now, the same Taliban minister will visit the Taj Mahal in Agra and Deoband, and the Yogi government will provide him with full security. Why the double standards?? Now, who should be ashamed, and against whom will a report be filed?”
Amir Khan Muttaqi is currently on a six-day visit to India, marking the first time a senior Taliban official has traveled to the country since the group regained power in Afghanistan in 2021. During his Uttar Pradesh itinerary, Muttaqi visited the Darul Uloom Deoband Islamic seminary in Saharanpur and is scheduled to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra.
The controversy echoes a similar incident in August 2021 when the then-MP Shafiqur Rehman Barq faced criticism and legal action for his comments comparing the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan to India’s fight for independence. At that time, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had strongly condemned Barq’s remarks, calling them a support for barbaric acts and a blot on humanity.