The Afghan embassy in India, which has pledged allegiance to the former Western-backed government, has announced its closure and will cease operations from October 1.
The Afghan embassy said in a statement on Saturday that it hopes to reach an agreement with the Indian government to ensure the interests of Afghans living, working, studying and doing business in India.
Afghans make up about a third of the roughly 40,000 registered refugees in India, according to the UN refugee agency. However, this number does not include those who are not registered with the United Nations.
The shutdown comes more than two years after the Taliban returned to power and brought down the government of President Ashraf Ghani, as the United States withdrew its troops after two decades of war and occupation.
The statement said the decision was taken due to a lack of “fundamental support” from India, which limited the embassy’s ability to carry out its mission.
The statement also referred to the Taliban regime and said there was a “lack of a legitimate government in Kabul” to meet expectations to provide the best possible services to the Afghan people.
The shutdown comes after reports that India’s ambassador and other senior diplomats have left in recent months amid intense fighting among those who remain in Delhi. However, the embassy denied speculation of infighting among its staff, insisting the rumors were “baseless”.
Neither country officially recognizes the new Afghan government, but recognizes the Taliban as the de facto ruling authority.
This left many Afghan embassies and consulates in limbo, and diplomats appointed by the previous government refused to hand over control of embassy buildings and property to representatives elected by Taliban officials.
India does not recognize the Taliban government that took power in Afghanistan in August 2021. India evacuated its personnel from Kabul before the US withdrawal from Afghanistan two years ago and currently has no diplomatic presence in the country.
However, New Delhi wants to maintain relations with a country where regional rival Pakistan has significant information.
