Afghan Embassy, Consulates to remain open, say envoys after meeting MEA officials

Afghanistan's Embassy in Delhi and its Consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad will remain open, senior envoys of the country have clarified after their meeting with Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials.

In a post on X, Afghanistan's Consul General in Mumbai, Zakia Wardak, said on Friday that she along with acting Consul General Sayed Mohammad Ibrahimkhil had met senior MEA officials on October 4, during which it was made clear that the Afghanistan Embassy in Delhi and both the Consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad will remain open and continue their operations for the benefit of its citizens.

In a statement issued by the Afghan envoys after meeting the MEA officials, it was stated that the Indian government will not close the Afghanistan Embassy in Delhi and that both the Consulates will remain functional and continue its operations for benefit of the people of Afghanistan.

The envoys also urged the MEA to ignore the assertions made by Afghanistan Ambassador Farid Mamundzai regarding the alleged closure of the Embassy and Consulates.

"We underscore that such actions fall outside the purview of the Ambassador in accordance with Afghan laws and the provisions of Vienna Convention. Furthermore, it is crucial to note that the Ambassador has been absent from the Embassy for an extended period and these decisions have been undertaken without consultations or consensus with the Consulate Generals of both Mumbai and Hyderabad. These decisions seem to be motivated by personal and internal matters within the Embassy which contravene established diplomatic protocols and practices," the statement said.

On Thursday, while replying to a question on reported announcement of Afghanistan Embassy's closure by its Ambassador from October 1 onwards, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said, "Our understanding is that the Embassy in New Delhi is functioning or continuing to function.

"We are in touch with the Afghan diplomats who are there in that Embassy, as well as with the Afghan diplomats who are at the Consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad. However, we received a communication last week purportedly from the Embassy, indicating that it intends to suspend operations at the end of September, I think it was.

"Of course, such a decision is an internal matter of a foreign mission. However, we have noted that the Afghan Consulates General in Mumbai and Hyderabad voiced their objection to that decision or to such a decision. We are also aware that there has been a prolonged absence of the Ambassador and that a large number of Afghan diplomats have left India in recent past."