Afghan Embassy suspends its operation in India

KABUL Oct 01 (Online): More than 2 years after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, the Afghan embassy in India has suspended its operations.

According to the foreign news agency ‘AFP’, most of the countries including India do not officially recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan but recognize them as the actual rulers of the country.

In this situation, many Afghan embassies and consulates have become inoperable, while diplomats appointed by the former government have refused to hand over control of embassy buildings and properties to representatives chosen by Taliban officials.

In a post on social media platform X, the embassy said, “It is with sadness, regret and disappointment that it is announced that the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi is closing down its operations.

The unconfirmed statement said continuing operations were becoming challenging due to staff and resource shortages, compounded by lack of adequate support in the timely renewal of visas for diplomats.

The announcement about the embassy comes after reports of a bitter row between Afghan diplomatic staff in recent months, with some officials returning to Afghanistan. Embassy has categorically denied as baseless and also denied that any diplomat is using this crisis to seek asylum in any country.

New Delhi evacuated its entire mission from Kabul after the Taliban closed in on the Afghan capital in August 2021, but last year sent a small team back to reopen its sprawling embassy.

After the entire embassy was evacuated after the Taliban came to power in August 2021, India deployed a technical team consisting of diplomats and security personnel in the Afghan capital in June 2022.

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