Afghan Embassy shuts operations in Delhi, cites ‘lack of diplomatic support’

“It is with profound sadness, regret and disappointment that the Embassy of Afghanistan in New Delhi announces this decision to cease its operations,” the Afghanistan Embassy said in a statement late on Saturday night.

It said the decision was taken after careful consideration, taking into account the historic ties and longstanding partnership between Afghanistan and India. Listing the primary reasons for the “unfortunate closure”, it alleged “lack of support from the host government” which, it said, hindered its ability to carry out duties effectively.

“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 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,” it said.

The statement also said that due to unforeseen and unfortunate circumstances, there has been a significant reduction in both personnel and resources available to it, making it increasingly challenging to continue operations.

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,” it said.

The Afghan Embassy said it was taking this step in the best interest of the people of Afghanistan. In accordance with Article 45 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), all property and facilities of the Embassy will be transferred to the custodial authority of the host country, it said.

Earlier, while saying that the Afghan Embassy had issued a communication on shutting down its operations, sources in the Indian government had pointed to “the Ambassador being out of India for the past many months, steady departure of diplomats to third countries reportedly after receiving asylum, as well as reports of infighting amongst Embassy personnel”.

In its three-page statement on Saturday, the Afghan Embassy categorically denied “baseless claims” regarding internal strife or discord among its diplomatic staff, and diplomats using the crisis to seek asylum in a third country. “Such rumours are unfounded and do not reflect the reality of our mission. We remain a united team working towards the best interests of Afghanistan,” it said.

It said it would like to verify the “authenticity” of an earlier communication with India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) regarding the intent to close the mission. “This communication accurately represents our decision-making process and the factors leading to the closure,” the statement said.

“We request the Government of India to give serious consideration to the four requests outlined in the official note verbale submitted earlier. Specifically, we emphasise the importance of permitting the hoisting of the Afghan flag over the properties of our premises, as well as facilitating the smooth transition of the mission’s buildings and assets to a legitimate government in Kabul in the future,” it said. The Embassy said it was keen to reach an agreement with the Indian government at the earliest.

The Embassy also acknowledged that, given the gravity of this decision, “there may be some who receive support and instructions from Kabul that may differ from our current course of action”.

In an “unequivocal statement” regarding the activities of certain consulates, it said: “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”. It was referring to the Afghan consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad, which are said to have aligned themselves with the Taliban regime.

The development comes months after a power struggle began at the Afghan Embassy in Delhi, as Ambassador Farid Mamundzay, appointed by the previous Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, battled to remain in office, in defiance of the Taliban-run Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul.

The Taliban regime has taken control of at least 14 missions abroad where it has posted its representatives, but Delhi is not one of them yet.

Aware of the infighting at the Embassy that erupted at the end of April, the MEA has not taken sides. According to sources, it conveyed to both sides that this was an internal matter which they needed to settle by themselves.

“From our perspective, this is an internal matter of the Afghan Embassy and we hope that they would resolve it internally,” the MEA’s official spokesperson had said in response to questions in June.

India closed down its Embassy in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the country, and the Ashraf Ghani government collapsed in mid-August 2021. It now has a technical team to coordinate humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.