Afghanistan closes its embassy in New Delhi
Afghanistan closed its embassy in New Delhi, India!
Afghanistan’s embassy suspended operations in India on Sunday.
The development comes more than two years after the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul following the collapse of the Western-backed government.
“The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in New Delhi regrets to announce the decision to cease its operations, effective October 1, 2023,” the Afghan embassy said in a statement posted on platform X.
The unsigned statement added it had been “increasingly challenging” to continue operations due to cuts in staff and resources, including a “lack of timely and sufficient support from visa renewal for diplomats”.
The move comes due to a lack of support from India and increasingly challenging conditions to operate, the embassy said.
The statement added that it “categorically refutes any baseless claims regarding internal strife” among staff, and denied any diplomats were “using the crisis to seek asylum in a third country”.
Press Statement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: 30th September, 2023
Afghanistan is closing its Embassy in New Delhi.
The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in New Delhi regrets to announce the decision to cease its operations, effective October 1, 2023. pic.twitter.com/BXesWPdLFP— Afghan Embassy India (@AfghanistanInIN) September 30, 2023
The Afghan embassy’s statement said it wanted to reach an agreement with the Indian government to ensure that the interests of Afghans living, working, studying, and doing business in India are safeguarded.
