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India says Afghanistan embassy in Delhi continues to operate
The Afghanistan Embassy in New Delhi continues to operate and New Delhi is in contact with diplomats at the mission as well as in consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad, Indian government said on Thursday.
"Our understanding is that the Afghan 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," India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
“However, we received communication last week purportedly from the embassy, indicating that it intends to suspend operations at the end of September,” he said as reported by the Indian Express.
“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 in Hyderabad voiced their objection to that decision or to such a decision,” Bagchi told reporters.
The diplomats at the embassy appointed by the previous Afghan government had announced in a statement on September 30 that the mission is ceasing its operations from October 1, alleging “lack of support from the host government”.
The Afghan consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad have, however, said that they would continue their operations.
The embassy was headed by Ambassador Farid Mamundzay but he has been out of India for several weeks. He was appointed by the previous Ashraf Ghani government.
“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 the recent past,” Bagchi said.
“We would hope that a substantial number of Afghan nationals in India, including students, are able to continue to receive necessary consular support. On our part, we will continue with our efforts to assist the people of Afghanistan,” he said.
Bagchi said the government is in touch with the Afghan diplomats in Delhi as well as in Mumbai and Hyderabad.
“We are not going to discuss what they will do, who will replace whom. That’s not within the remit of the government of India,” he said.
Bagchi also said that the government is extending visas to Afghan nationals who are unable to return to their country.
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Suhail Shaheen meets with Chinese ambassador to Qatar
The head of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) political office in Doha, Suhail Shaheen, met with China’s ambassador to Qatar late Monday for talks on bilateral relations, good neighborliness, and trade and investment opportunities between the two countries.
“About the Wakhan road, the export of Afghanistan's fresh fruit to China, the reconstruction of cold stores, China's assistance in the field of medical equipment to the Ministry of Health and good neighborliness between the two countries were discussed,” Shaheen said in a voice message.
China and the Islamic Emirate have been rapidly expanding relations in recent months.
Experts, meanwhile, have said that other countries need to engage with the IEA, as China is doing, in order for Afghanistan to come out of isolation.
Shaheen also met with Katharina Ritz, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation to Afghanistan.
He discussed numerous issues including humanitarian assistance, health sector challenges and climate change.
Both sides emphasized that ICRC activities need to be expanded, considering the needs of the people.
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IFRC reports over half of Afghanistan’s population needs urgent humanitarian aid
Afghanistan ranks among the most vulnerable countries globally to climate change and disaster risks
The International Federation of Red Crescent (IFRC) has reported that Afghanistan continues to face prolonged and complex humanitarian crises.
IFRC said in a report published on Tuesday, that about 23.7 million people, more than half of Afghanistan’s population, are in urgent need of humanitarian aid.
According to the IFRC, natural disasters, the growing impact of climate change, population displacement, economic challenges, and food insecurity are the main factors contributing to Afghanistan’s ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Afghanistan ranks among the most vulnerable countries globally to climate change and disaster risks.
The country is also prone to earthquakes, with nearly 400 tremors recorded in the last three years, including significant quakes, such as the 6.3 magnitude in Herat Province in October last year.
The compounding effects of disasters in the country have exacerbated the already fragile situation in Afghanistan, the IFRC’s report read.
These successive disasters have pushed more Afghans into poverty and heightened their vulnerability.
In addition, Afghanistan’s economic crisis is widespread, with more than half of households experiencing an economic shock.
The country’s economy is heavily dependent on foreign aid and remittances, which have declined significantly since the political change in 2021.
This has resulted in high levels of unemployment, challenging people’s coping mechanisms and thwarting the already fragile economy’s ability to adapt to shocks, the report read.
The IFRC said more than 85 percent of the country’s population is now living below the poverty line.
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Maldives recalls envoy to Pakistan over meeting with Afghanistan envoy
The island nation’s foreign ministry said the much publicized meeting had not been sanctioned by the government
The Maldives government has recalled its top diplomat in Pakistan after he had an unauthorized meeting with an Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan envoy in Islamabad.
The island nation’s foreign ministry said the much publicized meeting between the Maldives High Commissioner Mohamed Thoha and IEA envoy Sardar Ahmad Shakeeb on Friday had not been sanctioned by the government.
Maldives media reported that the foreign ministry stated: “Consequently, appropriate action has been taken by the government of Maldives.”
Thoha’s name has also been removed from the website of the Maldives mission in Islamabad, and an official source told AFP that he had been recalled.
Since regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021, no country has yet officially recognized the government.
However, the IEA has been making inroads into the diplomatic arena and has official missions now stationed in a number of regional countries.
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