Many Afghan diplomatic posts abroad have been disavowed by the Taliban, who have said they would not recognize passports, visas, and other documentation issued by diplomats linked to Afghanistan’s previous Western-backed government.
This is the most recent effort by the Taliban to gain control of diplomatic missions.
Statements issued by missions in Berlin, London, Belgium, Switzerland, Bonn, Austria, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Australia, Canada, and Norway are no longer valid, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which “bears no responsibility” for these documents. The statement was posted to the social media platform X.
Passports, visa stamps, deeds, and endorsements are among the papers that are impacted.
According to the ministry’s statement, citizens of such nations should instead contact Afghan embassies and consulates run by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the government of the Taliban.
The Taliban said in March 2023 that they were attempting to seize control of other Afghan embassies overseas. The administration has dispatched diplomats to a minimum of fourteen nations, according to their chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid.
Following the suspension of consular services at the embassies in London and Vienna due to the Taliban’s “lack of transparency and cooperation,” the Afghan embassies in the Netherlands and Spain in October emphasized their cooperation with the Taliban leadership in Kabul.
Countries like China and Pakistan have diplomatic missions in Afghanistan that are still very much operational.
The Taliban’s repressive policies against women and girls make it difficult for them to be acknowledged as the legitimate administration of the country. Women are no longer allowed in most public settings or to hold most professions, and their education has been halted after sixth grade.
United Nations authorities in Afghanistan reportedly closed a women-led NGO office in May because its female employees dared to physically show up for work, according to a report released on Tuesday.
According to the most recent report on human rights in Afghanistan, the mission authorized the NGO to reopen a few days after it signed a declaration stating it would not allow female staff to come to the office. The office’s location was redacted from the report due to “protection reasons.”
