Afghan ambassador: Pre-Taliban diplomats are leaving the Indian embassy.
NEW DELHI: The Afghan Embassy in India is reportedly experiencing significant personnel changes, yet there is a sense of unease among the departing employees and uncertainty on who will take their places.
According to reports, Afghan Ambassador Farid Mamundzay, who was speaking on behalf of a pre-Taliban agreement, wrote to the Indian External Affairs Minister to inform him that the embassy in New Delhi will be closing its doors.
According to reports, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is investigating the veracity of the communication that was allegedly issued from the Afghan embassy and claimed that the embassy was getting ready to shut down by September 30.
The Taliban leadership had conveyed a directive that the present Afghan ambassador to India, who was chosen by the previous Islamic Republic, be replaced with, The Wire had reported in May.
The Taliban-appointed diplomat was not permitted to take over at that time, according to The Wire, which reported on Friday that the plan had failed. Even then, Ambassador Mamundzay told The Wire that the MEA preferred a change in the embassy based on its official silence.
Despite not recognising the Taliban government, India stationed a technical team in Kabul in June 2022 that was made up of diplomats and security officials. It commemorated India’s return to the Afghan capital following the evacuation of the whole embassy in August 2021 as a result of the Taliban takingover of Kabul.
Afghan embassy diplomats have experienced operational and budgetary issues ever since India decided to return to Kabul.
According to a copy of the letter that Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwary posted on X, Ambassador Mamundzay informed the Indian foreign minister that the embassy will be closing down.
Without the express assistance of the Indian government, the Afghan diplomatic mission’s presence in New Delhi is unable to run normally. Unfortunately, the Embassy finds itself in a situation where this support is not available after giving the situation significant thought. Given these factors, the Embassy has determined that terminating our mission by the end of September 2023 is in the best interest of our mission and its staff, it stated.
The Wire claimed to have gotten in touch with Mr. Mamundzay to have the letter verified, but there hasn’t
Official sources claimed that the communication and its context are being checked for legitimacy, but the MEA has not yet responded in a formal manner.
This is in light of the ambassador’s prolonged absence from India, the regular repatriation of diplomats to third countries after obtaining asylum, and rumours of internal strife within the embassy staff, according to official sources.
The mission’s “significance has been systematically diminished since the reopening of the Indian embassy in Kabul in June 2022,” according to the letter purportedly signed by Ambassador Mamundzay.
“During the same period, the mission was not afforded the diplomatic regard and friendly considerations befitting its rightful status, roles, and responsibilities,” he claimed.
Additionally, Mr. Mamundzay requested that the MEA take custodial
The mission’s “significance has been systematically diminished since the reopening of the Indian embassy in Kabul in June 2022,” according to the letter purportedly signed by Ambassador Mamundzay.
“During the same period, the mission was not afforded the diplomatic regard and friendly considerations befitting its rightful status, roles, and responsibilities,” he claimed.
In the letter, Mr. Mamundzay also requested that the MEA assume custody of the mission’s assets and bank accounts, such as the lndia Afghanistan Fund, which now has over $500,000 in it.
Additionally, he requested that those diplomats whose visas have not been extended since May 2023 receive exit permits from the MEA. Thirdly, he asked that the Afghan tricolour flag continue to fly over all of the mission’s properties.
His final request was his fourth:
His final and fourth requirement was that no official of the Taliban regime be given access to the embassy’s premises.
