US shuts down Afghan embassy

WASHINGTON, Aug 15: The United States has decided to temporarily suspend operations at the Afghanistan embassy because of a dispute among t...

WASHINGTON, Aug 15: The United States has decided to temporarily suspend operations at the Afghanistan embassy because of a dispute among two diplomats at the embassy over who represents the country, officials said on Thursday.

State Department spokesman James P. Rubin said the two remaining accredited diplomats, Charge Yar M. Mohabbat and his deputy Seraj Wardak Jamal, were notified of the decision on Thursday morning.

The dispute broke out May 28 when the diplomats disagreed over which flag should fly over the building. Since then, the Taliban movement in effect has controlled the embassy.

Rubin said the decision also was taken because of the US belief that there is no effective government in the country.

He said the suspension does not signify a break in US relations with Afghanistan. It also reflects the US decision to be strictly neutral toward the Afghan factions, he said.

The two diplomats will be allowed to remain in the US but will not have diplomatic immunity, he said.

Mohabbat said the embassy would suspend operations effective August 21. He said the country8217;s UN mission in New York would handle diplomatic and consular affairs.

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Mohabbat represents President Burhanuddin Rabbani who fled the Afghan capital of Kabul last September. Jamal represents the Taliban movement, which has imposed a rigid form of Islam in 23 of the 30 provinces of the country it says it controls.

Most Afghan diplomatic posts in Washington, the United Nations and other Western capitals have been held by representatives of the Rabbani government, which says it pays for their upkeep. The Taliban controls missions in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Mohabba said he was planning to leave the diplomatic service, which would have left only the Taliban official at the Washington embassy. The Rabbani government sent a replacement, Gen. Mohammad Payenda, but an employee at the embassy, who asked not to be named, said the State Department refused to accredit him.

In a letter last week Rep. Dana Rohrabacher urged Karlindefurth, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, to meet personally as soon as possible with Gen. Payenda, support diplomatic status for him and terminate recognition of the Taliban representative at the embassy.

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Rohrabacher said 8220;any favoritism shown to the Taliban will encourage this extremist movement and their Pakistani patrons to resist meaningful peace negotiations.8221;

The State Department action came as the Taliban stepped up efforts to gain US recognition.

The Taliban government8217;s designated ambassador to the United Nations, Abdul Hakeem Mujahid, met Monday with Michael Malinowski, State Department director for Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Mujahid planned talks with Indefurth on Thursday.

Mohabbat said 8220;the warring factions in his country should end the bloodshed, resolve their differences, and replace their weapons with shovels so the country can be rebuilt.8221;