Afghanistan Embassy in Delhi Closed Down, but Consulates in Hyderabad and Mumbai still Functional

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Oct 1: After nearly two years of uncertainty, the Afghanistan embassy in Delhi was finally closed down with effect from Sunday blaming India for “lack of support from the host government.”

In a message shared with the media, the mission that ran on skeletal staff and without the presence of the envoy appointed during the Presidency of Dr Ashraf Ghani, said the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was shut down because the “Embassy has experienced a notable absence of crucial support from the host government, which has hindered our ability to carry out our duties effectively.”

It cited “reduction in both personnel and resources” because of the arrival of the Taliban administration in Kabul and acknowledged that it has failed to meet “expectations in serving Afghanistan’s interests.” India will take control of the embassy in a caretaker capacity, the statement by the embassy said.

The announcement came two years after the elected government in Afghanistan was overthrown by the Taliban. While India does not recognise the Taliban government, it had allowed the Afghan embassy to continue operations under the ambassador and mission staff appointed by former president Ashraf Ghani, who fled Kabul in 2021.

“Given these circumstances, 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 press note declared. The statement indicated at the deep divisions between the Taliban set-up in Kabul and former rulers as it cautioned against anyone in Afghan consulates in Hyderabad and Mumbai working for the present rulers of Kabul.

The Indian government has not yet reacted to these allegations. The embassy acknowledged that they had failed to serve the best interests of Afghanistan and its citizens.

“We acknowledge our shortcomings in meeting the expectations and requirements necessary to serve the best interests of Afghanistan and its citizens due to the lack of diplomatic support in India and the absence of a legitimate functioning government in Kabul,” it said.

The Afghan embassy said there had been a significant reduction in personnel and resources due to unforeseen circumstances, making it challenging for them to continue operations. “The lack of timely and sufficient support from visa renewal for diplomats to other critical areas of cooperation led to an understandable frustration among our team and impeded our ability to carry out routine duties effectively,” the statement said.

India is yet to recognise the Taliban set-up and has been pitching for the formation of a truly inclusive government in Kabul, besides insisting that Afghan soil must not be used for any terrorist activities against any country.

Earlier this week, sources in the foreign affairs ministry had said that they are keeping an eye on the crisis and also examining the authenticity of the communication about the Afghanistan embassy closing doors.

Unlike the embassy in Delhi, the Afghan consulates in Hyderabad and Mumbai have not shut down and Consul General of Afghanistan in Mumbai Zakia Wardak had earlier announced on social media that they remain committed to serving the Afghan citizens who may require consular services in India.

“It is our firm belief that any actions taken by these consulates are not in consonance with the objectives of a legitimate or elected government and rather serve the interests of an illegitimate regime,” the embassy said hinting at the Taliban adding, “Such activities, conducted independently, are contrary to the established norms of diplomatic representation.” The statement adds to the earlier reports of division among the ranks of the existing diplomatic staff within the embassy and the two consulates of Afghanistan.

The mission sources had earlier said ambassador Farid Mamundzay who left India more than three months ago did not return, creating a vacuum in the embassy which was deepened with the departure of at least four other senior officials, including his personal secretary. The Afghan embassy in New Delhi’s diplomatic enclave — Chanakyapuri — has been a witness to the tumultuous political history of Afghanistan and was handled by a varying number of political bosses in Kabul as governments changed multiple times starting from the late 1970s. However, the mission was not manned by the Taliban since the outfit became politically prominent starting with the 1996 overthrow and assassination of President Mohammed Najibullah.

After the fall of the last President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Dr Ghani, India did not recognise the Taliban regime in Kabul and since June 2022 has maintained a “technical team” in the Indian embassy in Kabul. New Delhi is therefore not in a formal diplomatic relation with the Taliban set-up in Kabul and the outfit is unlikely to gain immediate ownership of the embassy that has belonged to the rulers of Kabul conventionally.

The mission said the decision to shut down was taken in accordance with the Article 45 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, declaring that all property belonging to it will be transferred to the “custodial authority of the host country.”

The public statement from the mission urged the government of India to continue to fly the flag of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan that was in existence between 2004 and 2021. Shutting of the mission in the absence of formal diplomatic ties with the Taliban has placed a question mark on the consular requirements of many Afghan students, traders and tourists who have been affected by the presence of the Taliban in Kabul.

Afghanistan at present has two weekly flights to Delhi that ferry Afghan citizens to India but sources in the Afghan embassy said, visa-related difficulties have forced the flights to be largely used for cargo purposes. Interestingly, the closure came hours after the Moscow format dialogue on Afghanistan was held in Kazan, Russia, where the Taliban participated in discussion with stakeholders that included India. Taliban had earlier urged India to help in establishing economic stability of Afghanistan.

Earlier this year, the embassy was rocked by a power struggle in the wake of reports of the Taliban appointing a charge d’affaires to head the mission, replacing Mamundzay. Following the episode, the embassy came out with a statement that there was no change in its leadership.

The tussle for power had erupted after Qadir Shah, who was working as a trade councillor at the embassy since 2020, wrote to the MEA in late April claiming that he was appointed as the charge d’affaires at the embassy by the Taliban.

But the embassy’s closure statement said it “categorically refutes any baseless claims regarding internal strife” among embassy staff, and denied any diplomats were “using the crisis to seek asylum in a third country.”