New Delhi: The Afghan embassy in India announced its permanent closure in a statement Friday, owing to “constant pressure from both the Taliban and the Indian government to relinquish control”. Afghan Consul Generals from Hyderabad and Mumbai are currently in New Delhi to meet officials from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to discuss the future of the embassy, sources told ThePrint.
A statement from the Consul Generals is expected soon.
In the statement Friday, the mission said: “Unfortunately, efforts have been made to tarnish our image and hinder diplomatic efforts in order to justify the presence and work of Taliban-appointed and affiliated diplomats.”
“As of now, there are no diplomats from the Afghan Republic remaining in India. Those who served the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan have safely reached third countries. The only individuals present in India are diplomats affiliated with the Taliban…,” added the statement, in a veiled reference to the Consul Generals.
The Afghan embassy has also requested the MEA to assume custodial responsibility of the diplomatic mission properties, vehicles and $500,000 in bank accounts of the mission.
On 1 October, the Afghan ambassador Farid Manundzay, currently in London, had announced the embassy would cease operations due to the “lack of support” from the host government, among other reasons.
The announcement came days after ThePrint reported that the embassy wrote to the MEA about its intent to close down, shortly after local staff were sacked.
The Afghan consul generals later ‘disavowed’ the ambassador’s statement on embassy closure. This was after Afghan Consul General Zakia Wardak (Mumbai) and Acting-Consul General Syed Mohammad Ibrahimkhail (Hyderabad) held extensive meetings with MEA officials.
ThePrint tried to reach Wardak and Ibrahimkhail over WhatsApp but did not receive a response. This report will be updated once a response is received. ThePrint also tried to contact MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi via calls and text message but did not get a response.
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Exit permit for last Afghan diplomat in embassy
In a note verbale from the Afghan embassy to the MEA on 22 November, the embassy noted that a no objection certificate (NOC) had been issued to the last Afghan diplomat in the embassy on 20 November.
“The CPV (Consular, Passport & Visa) Division of MEA has issued the requested no objection for the issuance of exit permit on gratis basis to Mr Mosa Naimi and his family members on the 20th of November 2023,” said the note verbale, seen by ThePrint.
Sources in the embassy confirmed to ThePrint that this diplomat flew out of the country on 22 November with his family.
Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Afghan nationals, including diplomatic passport holders, allegedly require an NOC from the Indian government to enter or depart the country.
“To exit or enter India, Afghan nationals require a legal document from the Indian government, whether it’s an NOC or an exit form. It’s become an unwritten rule over the last two years. Foreign correspondents of Afghan nationality have also faced issues leaving and re-entering India due to this,” a former Indian ambassador to Afghanistan, who did not wish to be named, told ThePrint.
Last month, the Afghan ambassador Mamundzay told ThePrint that the Indian government is trying to accommodate Taliban diplomatic representation under the “guise” of the republic.
At the time, ThePrint reached the MEA spokesperson, who reiterated his statement that the mission was functioning as “usual”, but declined to comment on Mamundzay’s claims.
Foreign policy experts have also said India, though not officially recognising the Taliban regime, has maintained a ‘technical team’ in Kabul since June 2022 and, therefore, it is likely that the Taliban are seeking reciprocity in New Delhi.
‘Unfair characterisation’
The closure announcement comes five months after a power struggle broke out in the Afghan embassy when the Taliban sent a letter to the Afghan embassy in Delhi appointing Qadir Shah, the trade counsellor, as ambassador.
Shah attempted to take over the embassy in Mamundzay’s absence, but was unsuccessful and later disallowed from entering the mission.
Sources in the embassy had at the time confirmed to ThePrint that they regularly receive letters from the Taliban but these are not entertained as the embassy represents the Republic, not the Islamic Emirate.
During this power struggle, the MEA had characterised the issue as an “internal matter”.
In its note verbale to the MEA on 22 November, the Afghan embassy called this an “unfair characterisation” and an attempt to downplay the issue.
“In light of recent challenges where certain elements, purportedly affiliated with the Taliban, have consistently undermined the mission’s status and reputation with what appears to be clandestine support from the host country, the mission repeatedly expressed its concerns,” stated the note verbale.
It added: “The lack of support from the Indian government and the unfair characterisation of significant issues faced by the embassy as merely an ‘internal conflict’ in addition to downplaying major issues of concerns impacted our ability to function”.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)