New Delhi/Kabul, Oct 2 (EFE).- The Afghan Embassy in India has announced the cessation of its operations in New Delhi, noting the lack of resources and support from the government of India.
The embassy in the Indian capital had for more than two years been functioning independently despite the fall of the previous democratic government and the return of the Taliban as the foreign troops pulled out of the country in August 2021.
“It is with deep regret that we have taken the difficult decision to close all operations of the mission with the exception of emergency consular services to Afghan citizens till the transfer of the custodial authority of the mission to the host country,” the embassy said in a statement.
Only the emergency consular service will be functional starting Sunday, it underlined.
The sudden collapse of the previous government, and lack of recognition of the de facto Taliban authorities, left the country’s institutions abroad, including embassies and representatives of Afghanistan abroad, in the lurch.
Moreover, the resistance of some diplomatic chiefs to recognize the Taliban regime turned embassies into symbolic representations without power or resources for their operations.
The Afghan embassy pointed out the “lack of support from the host government,” and “the absence of legitimate and functional government in Kabul” as reasons for the embassy closure, as regular services have been affected.
“Due to unforeseen and unfortunate circumstances, there has been a significant reduction in both personnel and resources available to us”, the embassy stated, making it increasingly challenging for the embassy to continue operations.
The embassy called on India to “seriously consider” the situation and emphasized the importance of allowing the Afghan flag to be hoisted on its properties, and facilitate the smooth transition of the mission building and assets to “a legitimate government in Kabul.”
The text, however, did not clarify about the situation of the embassy officials and their families.
Diplomatic officials consulted by EFE, based in New Delhi, claimed that the Taliban Foreign Ministry has been giving instructions and correspondences to all its embassies since taking over, but they are mostly ignored on the grounds that they only respond to the deposed democratic government that appointed them.
The Indian government is yet to comment on the matter. EFE
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