The embassy of Afghanistan in India, which owed its allegiance to the former West-backed government, has announced its closure, saying it would cease operations starting from October 1.
The Afghan embassy’s statement on Saturday 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.
Afghans account for around one-third of the nearly 40,000 refugees registered in India, according to the United Nations’ refugee agency. But that figure excludes those who are not registered with the UN.
“There has been a significant reduction in both personnel and resources available to us, making it increasingly challenging to continue operations,” the statement said.
The closure comes more than two years after the Taliban government stormed back to power triggering the collapse of the government of President Ashraf Ghani in the wake of the US withdrawing its troops after 20 years of war and occupation.
“It is with profound sadness, regret, and disappointment that the Embassy of Afghanistan in New Delhi announces this decision to cease its operations,” the embassy said.
The decision was taken due to lack of “crucial support” from India which has hampered the embassy’s capacity to carry out the embassy’s duties, read the statement.
There were also shortcomings in meeting the expectations to best serve Afghani citizens due to “the absence of a legitimate functioning government in Kabul”, read the statement, referring to the Taliban administration.
Source: Aljazeera.com
