Taliban halts consular services to Afghanistan in Vienna and London due to a lack of openness and cooperation

Due to their lack of openness and collaboration with Kabul authorities, the Taliban are halting consular services at the two Afghan embassies in Vienna and London, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry said on Sunday.

Around a dozen embassies and consulates in Afghanistan are completely under the Taliban administration’s authority, and the majority of them are manned by former Western-backed government employees.

Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, and China are among the nations that still have a functioning diplomatic representation in Afghanistan, but the international community is still hesitant to formally recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate government.

According to Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a spokesman for the foreign ministry, consular services have been suspended at the two embassies with immediate effect and will remain suspended indefinitely. The issuance and extension of passports and visas are among the impacted services.

Balkhi said that it was standard ministry practice to check into the operations of additional embassies when asked whether the ministry was doing so.

A few days before, the Afghan embassies in Spain and the Netherlands released statements highlighting their cooperation and communication with the Kabul-based Taliban leadership.

The Netherlands’ announcement was seen favorably by Afghans, according to a voice message from the ministry’s deputy spokesman Zia Ahmad Takal, since all consular and diplomatic problems would now be handled directly by Kabul.

“The Afghan government will pay the salaries and costs of the workers, officials, and diplomats,” Takal stated.

In spite of claims by diplomatic employees that it was shutting owing to a lack of diplomatic support in India and the absence of a recognized administration in Kabul, India declared this week that the Afghan Embassy in the nation’s capital New Delhi is still operational.

According to statements made by the Taliban’s main spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid in March of this year, the group has deployed diplomats to at least 14 different nations, and attempts are being made to assume control of more diplomatic posts overseas.