Afghan Embassy in India to Close Permanently Due to Lack of Funding

An appointee of the pre-Taliban Ashraf Ghani administration runs the Afghan embassy in India, which appears to have opted to "permanently" wind down its operations due to a lack of funding and assistance from the Indian government.

A note verbale (NV) that is making the rounds online claims that the mission informed the external affairs ministry of the choice earlier this week. Until Friday night, the ministry did not formally remark on the development. According to a source, "the authenticity of the communication and its contents are being examined."

Also mentioned were the "past many months" that ambassador Farid Mamundzay has been absent from the country, the "steady departure of diplomats to third countries reportedly after receiving asylum, as well as reports of infighting amongst embassy staff," and these developments.

India and the majority of the rest of the world have severed diplomatic ties with Afghanistan after Kabul fell to the Taliban in the middle of August 2021, leaving just a technical office at the mission there.

Mamundzay and Qurban Shah, who had been named charge d'affaires by the Taliban regime, got into a fight in the mission in Delhi in May. Mamundzay, who was in London at the time, stepped in to take charge, claiming that India had recognized him as the Afghan ambassador.

His absence from the assignment since June subsequently led to rumors regarding his fate in August. However, Mamundzay clarified in a statement that his absence was for personal reasons and that he would soon return. This time, after the NV has been out in the world for 24 hours, he has kept silent.

The delegation, which was mostly made up of Ghani administration officials, expressed dissatisfaction with the Indian government in the NV. According to the mission, who listed at least 10 NVs that received no reaction from the ministry, "This decision (to close operations) stems from our inability to maintain normal functioning due to absence of diplomatic consideration and systemic support."

Since the terrible collapse of the Afghan republic, neither the Strategic Partnership Agreement nor other bilateral accords have received the proper scrutiny.

Additionally, the NV claims that the mission's importance "has been systematically diminished."