Afghan diplomatic missions faced a major setback on Tuesday when the Taliban disavowed many of them. The Taliban declared they would not honor passports, visas, and other documents issued by diplomats from Afghanistan’s former Western-backed administration. This move is part of the Taliban’s ongoing efforts to seize control of diplomatic missions since their return to power in 2021. Despite this, many Taliban leaders are still under sanctions, and no country officially recognizes them as Afghanistan’s legitimate rulers.
The seat at the United Nations for Afghanistan remains with the former government led by Ashraf Ghani. On the social media platform X, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that documents from missions in London, Berlin, Belgium, Bonn, Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy, Greece, Poland, Australia, Sweden, Canada, and Norway are no longer accepted. The ministry stated it “bears no responsibility” for these documents.
The affected documents include passports, visa stickers, deeds, and endorsements. People in these countries will now need to approach embassies and consulates controlled by the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The ministry emphasized that “all Afghan nationals living abroad and foreigners can visit the IEA political and consular missions in other countries, other than the above-mentioned missions, to access consular services.”
In March 2023, the Taliban declared their intention to take over more Afghan embassies abroad. Chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said they had sent diplomats to at least 14 countries. Last October, Afghan embassies in Spain and the Netherlands confirmed their cooperation with Taliban authorities in Kabul. The Taliban suspended consular services at the embassies in London and Vienna due to “lack of transparency and cooperation.”
Some countries, including Pakistan and China, continue to maintain active diplomatic missions in Afghanistan. The Afghan diplomatic missions issue highlights the ongoing struggles and changes in international relations under the Taliban’s rule.
