Afghan Embassy in New Delhi Closes, Citing Lack of Support from India

Shortly after midnight on Sunday, the Afghan embassy in New Delhi, which was previously run by an ambassador before the Taliban took control, officially announced its closure, citing a "lack of support from the host government" (India) and resources.

The note verbale (NV) dated September 25 to the foreign affairs ministry, which has been making the rounds online since Thursday, was verified to be real by the embassy and ambassador Farid Mamundzay in a three-page statement posted on their respective social media accounts. Till late Sunday night, the ministry had not formally responded to the post-midnight statement made by the Afghan mission.

The media release lists three reasons for the shutdown, with India's lack of support being the main one. "The host government has demonstrated a notable lack of crucial support (including diplomatic) for the embassy, which has made it more difficult for us to perform our duties effectively." More information on this was provided in the NV, which also mentioned at least 10 more communications with the ministry that went unanswered. This was especially true after India decided to send a technical team at the Indian mission in Kabul starting in June 2022. India does not currently have diplomatic ties with Afghanistan's Taliban government.

The Afghan consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad, on the other hand, seem to be choosing their own path, ostensibly on orders from Taliban-run Kabul. The current media release from the embassy refers to both consulates, despite the fact that the consul general of the Mumbai mission, Zakia Wardak, had publicly stated her disagreement with the September 25 NV from the Delhi mission advising India of the decision to close as of October 1.

The embassy also realizes that some people might get assistance and instructions from Kabul that diverge from our current course of action, given the severity of this choice. We firmly believe that any measures made by these consulates serve the interests of an unjust regime rather than being in line with those of an elected or legal government.

Since it reestablished diplomatic connections with Afghanistan in 2002 after the Taliban regime was overthrown in the wake of the US-led war on terror, the embassy in Delhi has been open for business for 22 years. As a result of the closure, all of the embassy's assets and facilities will be given to India, the host nation, under the terms of Article 45 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.