Afghan embassy row: Consulate says ‘no Afghan diplomats in India, remaining aligned with Taliban’

Afghan embassy row: Consulate says ‘no Afghan diplomats in India, remaining aligned with Taliban’

New Delhi: The row over control of the Afghan embassy in New Delhi continued Saturday with the consulate announcing on X that “as of 23 November, there is no Afghan diplomat representing the former Republic in India”.

This came a day after Zakia Wardak, the consul general in Mumbai, and Sayed Mohammad Ibrahimkhil, the acting consul general in Hyderabad, declared their “joint leadership” of the New Delhi embassy hours after the latter announced its permanent closure.

“Those with ties to the Taliban are aligning themselves with Taliban and also Delhi’s interests,” the embassy said in its latest post on X, in an apparent dig at Wardak and Ibrahimkhil.

“With no ties to the country and a disregard for Afghan suffering, Zakia and Ibrahimkhail seem to moonlight at Taliban meetings, taking cues from a group with Indian blood on their hands,” the post further said.

Neighbourhood first policy: We, the former Afghan diplomats want to set the record straight: As of Nov 23, there is no Afghan diplomat representing the former Republic in India. Those with ties to the Taliban are aligning themselves with Taliban and also Delhi’s interests. N/1 pic.twitter.com/T3pwdj4DTY

— Afghan Embassy India (@AfghanistanInIN) November 25, 2023

Accusing the consul generals of undermining former diplomats, Afghanistan ambassador Farid Mamundzay posted on X Saturday: “As expected, the blame game persists. Efforts to dilute truth & undermine former diplomats for alleged crisis persist by those who work with & for Taliban.”

recognition. Currency, passports, documents, & flags harken back to the republic era. Times may change, but remnants linger.

As expected, the blame game persists.Efforts to dilute truth & undermine former diplomats for alleged crisis persist by those who work with & for Taliban.

— Farid Mamundzay फरीद मामुन्दजई فرید ماموندزی (@FMamundzay) November 25, 2023

While announcing the embassy’s closure Friday, the mission had explained in a statement that “efforts have been made” to tarnish its image and “hinder” diplomatic efforts to “justify” the presence of Taliban-appointed diplomats.

The embassy also requested the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to assume custodial responsibility of the diplomatic mission properties, vehicles and $5,00,000 in the bank accounts of the mission.

The row over the embassy began in May when the Taliban appointed trade counsellor Qadir Shah as its ambassador. While Shah attempted to take over the embassy in Mamundzay’s absence but failed, he was later banned from entering the premises, as reported by ThePrint earlier.

Long-drawn row

On 1 October, Mamundzay — currently in London — announced the closure of the embassy citing a lack of support from the host government, among other reasons.

ThePrint was the first to report the possible closure of the mission, days before Mamundzay announced the Afghan embassy’s intention to shut down operations on 1 October, after it sacked its local staff in September. The Afghan consul generals later ‘disavowed’ the ambassador’s statement on embassy closure and held extensive meetings with MEA officials.

Hours after the embassy in India announced its permanent closure due to “constant pressure from both the Taliban and the Indian government to relinquish control”, the two Afghan consul generals in India took control of the mission. They urged everyone to “ignore” the “unprofessional” communications by the former Afghan diplomats.

“Assure Afghan nationals based in India that the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, New Delhi, continues to function as usual and that there will be no disruption in the provisioning of consular services,” the statement by the two consul generals, also shared on X, said.

“Such random, fraudulent, baseless and factually incorrect communications are creating panic, distrust and negativity in the overall functioning of the Embassy, as well as among Afghan nationals,” the statement added.

(Edited by Smriti Sinha)