Afghanistan's Embassy in India ceases operations

Afghanistan's Embassy in India on Sunday ceased operations.

New Delhi does not recognize Afghanistan's Taliban rulers, who took power in 2021.

India had allowed the Afghan Embassy to continue operating under the ambassador and mission staff appointed by ousted President Ashraf Ghani.

India has said it will follow the lead of the United Nations in deciding whether to recognize the Taliban government.

Last month, China became the first country to formally name a new ambassador to Afghanistan, with other states still maintaining envoys from before the Taliban takeover.

What did the embassy say?

"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 in a statement.

The statement said that it had become "increasingly challenging" to continue operations due to cuts in staff and resources. It also cited a "lack of timely and sufficient support from visa renewal for diplomats."

It said that a failure to meet expectations in serving Afghanistan's interests given the "lack of a legitimate functioning government in Kabul" was another factor in the closure.

The embassy said that it "categorically refutes any baseless claims regarding internal strife" among its staff, adding that it denied any diplomats were "using the crisis to seek asylum in a country."

The Reuters news agency reported the ambassador and other senior diplomats left India in recent months and had gained asylum in Europe and the United States, citing three embassy officials.

India will take control of the embassy as a caretaker, according to the statement.

sdi/sms (AFP, Reuters, AP)