Taliban disavows some Afghan diplomatic missions abroad and rejects their consular services

AP , Tuesday 30 Jul 2024

The Taliban on Tuesday disavowed many Afghan diplomatic missions overseas, saying it will not honour passports, visas and other documents issued by diplomats associated with Afghanistan's former Western-backed administration.

Afghanistan's acting deputy prime minister Abdul Ghani Baradar (front C), minister of informatio
Afghanistan's acting deputy prime minister Abdul Ghani Baradar (front C), minister of information and culture Khairullah Khairkhwa (front R) and minister of mines and petroleum Hidayatullah Badri (front L) in Shast Bandari area of Mohammad Agha district in Logar province on July 24, 2024. AFP

 

It’s the Taliban's latest attempt to seize control over diplomatic missions.

In a statement posted to the social media platform X, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that documents issued by missions in London, Berlin, Belgium, Bonn, Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy, Greece, Poland, Australia, Sweden, Canada and Norway are no longer valid and that the ministry “bears no responsibility” for those documents.

The documents affected include passports, visa stickers, deeds and endorsements.

The ministry wrote that people in those countries will need to approach embassies and consulates controlled by the Taliban's Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan government instead.

“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," it said.

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