Afghanistan embassy in New Delhi may shut down its operations

The Afghanistan embassy in New Delhi is learnt to be looking at shutting its operations, sources have told The Indian Express.

Sources in the Indian government said that the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi has “purportedly issued a communication on this issue”. A source said that the authenticity of the communication and its contents are “being examined”.

“This is in the context of 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,” the source said.

This comes months after a power struggle was underway at the Afghan embassy in Delhi as Ambassador Farid Mamundzay, appointed by the previous Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, was battling to stay on in office in defiance of the Taliban-run Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul.