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Afghanistan Embassy In India: Days after it was announced that the Embassy of Afghanistan in New Delhi has shut down permanently, the former Afghan consuls general of Mumbai and Hyderabad have taken control and reopened it by restarting all the key consular departments that are particularly focussed on granting visas for people-to-people movement and also looking after issues of the Afghan refugees in India. New Delhi has not issued any statement on the development yet.
Zakia Wardak and Sayed Mohammad Ibrahimkhil, Afghan Consuls General posted in Mumbai and Hyderabad, respectively, will now be looking after the day-to-day operations of the embassy in New Delhi. But they will be reporting to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul, which is run by the Taliban government there, highly placed sources told ABP LIVE.
While both the consuls general had announced the reopening of the embassy on November 24, it will take time to resume normal operations like before as the former team of diplomats under former Afghanistan envoy to India Farid Mamundzay have left the embassy in “dire straits with insignificant amount of funds to run daily operations”, the sources added.
Before leaving India, it is believed that Mamundzay and some of the diplomats under him did not even clear the dues such as electricity bills of the embassy and have also not paid salaries of the India-based staff for the past more than two months, the sources said.
Embassy Opened To Maintain ‘Working Ties’
Announcing the reopening of the embassy last month, Wardak and Ibrahimkhil said the embassy “continues to function as usual and that there will be no disruption in the provision of the consular services”.
“Urge everyone to kindly ignore and disregard the unprofessional and irresponsible communications issued by the former Afghan diplomats who are based abroad and therefore, now onwards, have no locus standi in the internal affairs of Afghan Embassy in New Delhi. Such random, fraudulent, baseless and factually incorrect communications are creating panic, distrust and negativity in the overall functioning of the Embassy, as well as amongst the Afghan nationals. Such communications do not represent the wish of all Afghans,” they said in a statement.
“We are in constant touch with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India and trying to address the current difficult situation wherein most of our former Embassy colleagues have received asylum and left India, therefore, we are facing shortage of diplomatic and official staff,” the statement added.
According to the sources, the embassy has been reopened under the Indian government’s directive in order to maintain “working ties” with Kabul, which is now under the rule of the Taliban.
The embassy has been reopened under the banner of the former Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and not the Islamic Emirate even though the Taliban in Kabul has reportedly claimed that it was their decision to get the embassy reopened. But technically, both the consuls general will have to work with the Taliban dispensation in Kabul, just as Mamundzay did.
After taking charge, Wardak and Ibrahimkhil met officials in the Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran Division of the Ministry of External Affairs. Thereafter, they met the India-based staff of the embassy and the teachers of the now closed Allama Syed Jamaluddin Afghan Highschool in Delhi. The school was forced to down its shutters due to paucity of funds.
The consuls general have urged the Indian government to have the school reopened, sources said.
Blame Game Continues
Meanwhile, former Afghan ambassador Mamundzay and his close aides continue to use the official social media accounts of the Afghanistan Embassy in New Delhi to blame India for dealing with the Taliban.
Before issuing the statement of shutting down the embassy permanently, Mamundzay had alleged that both the consuls general were working for the Taliban, and that the Indian government had accorded “de facto recognition” to the Taliban dispensation in Kabul. He also blamed the Indian government openly for not cooperating with them as they attempted to keep the embassy premises open. Mamundzay and his team of diplomats have now all left India.
Meanwhile, the Indian government continues to remain silent on this issue and has not issued any public statement on the entire saga playing out at the heart of India’s capital.
A post from the official X account of the Afghanistan Embassy said last month: “Taliban have now officially acknowledged the take over of the mission. We emphasize our principled stance and express gratitude to the Indian people, urging the government to support Afghan students, patients, and traders by extended visa support while.”
In the last press release issued by them before closing down the embassy, the former ambassador had also said that “efforts are being made to tarnish our image and hinder diplomatic efforts in order to justify the presence and work of Taliban-appointed and affiliated diplomats”.
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