Days after Afghanistan’s most senior diplomat in India resigned over charges of smuggling, diplomats still loyal to the previous democratic regime in Kabul warn that the Taliban is making another attempt to install a nominee in India, and urged India and other countries not to “normalise” ties with the Taliban. The warnings came amidst turmoil within Afghanistan’s Delhi Embassy and Consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad and a scandal involving a top diplomat accused of smuggling gold, that has left the missions in India practically leader-less.
“Normalisation and recognition should not occur until they take tangible actions aligned with the demands of the Afghan people and the international community, focusing on the formation of an inclusive system based on the will of the people, justice, and the rule of law,” Afghanistan’s acting Permanent Representative to the United Nations Naseer Ahmad Faiq told The Hindu, pointing to many countries in the region that have now accepted Taliban appointed diplomats, although no country in the world has at present recognised the Taliban government. Afghanistan’s Embassies in China, Pakistan, Iran, the UAE and several Central Asian countries are now headed by Taliban-appointed diplomats, who replaced those appointed by the previous Ashraf Ghani government. However, the United Nations has refused to grant accreditation to new diplomats at the UN mission, citing the Taliban’s unkept promises on inclusive government, human rights and education and employment rights to women and girls.
Diplomatic sources confirmed to The Hindu this week that the Afghanistan Embassy in Delhi has also received documents appointing an India-based Afghan academic reportedly cleared by the Taliban Foreign Ministry in Kabul for the post of Acting Consul General in Mumbai. If granted permission by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the academic, who is currently pursuing a PhD at the South Asian University in Delhi, could become the first Taliban-appointed diplomat to take office at Afghan missions in India.
