ISLAMABAD: Afghan embassies world wide that experience refused to acknowledge the brand new Taleban regime are suffering to stick afloat and dealing with expanding force from Kabul to simply accept loyalist replacements. Not one of the nation’s 60 or so ambassadors, consuls or heads of diplomatic missions who had been appointed by way of Western-backed former president Ashraf Ghani have agreed to serve the hardline Islamist team because it seized energy in August closing yr. The Taleban executive has but to be officially identified by way of any country, and the global group is grappling with learn how to take care of the rustic’s new rulers whilst additionally serving to Afghans face an financial and humanitarian disaster.

“We’re in an excessively unlucky … state of affairs, yet we nonetheless need to proceed to perform in those tricky instances,” stated Youssof Ghafoorzai, the ambassador to Norway. “The embassies nonetheless have an important position to play relating to looking to build up no matter humanitarian fortify is conceivable. But additionally (to lend a hand) discussions at the political observe… to stabilize the location.” Help and money reserves, frozen by way of america and the global group after the Taleban seized keep watch over, are trickling again into the rustic, which has lengthy depended virtually solely on donors.

However Ghafoorzai and his colleagues have had no touch with the brand new regime, and team of workers have now not been paid for months. The Afghan embassy and its consulates in america are being close within the coming week. “The Afghan Embassy and consulates are underneath critical monetary force. Their financial institution accounts don’t seem to be to be had to them,” a US State Division authentic advised AFP.

The embassy and Washington have made preparations for an “orderly shutdown of operations in some way that will offer protection to and maintain all diplomatic venture assets in america till operations are ready to renew,” the authentic stated. The world over, Afghan ambassadors were compelled to dramatically scale down their actions, scale back power expenses and meals prices, or even transfer into smaller premises. They’ve additionally larger consular charges to generate earnings. “The embassy isn’t receiving any investment or monetary the aid of Kabul,” Farid Mamundzay, the ambassador in New Delhi, advised AFP.

“Within the absence of the specified monetary fortify and depletion of sources, we’ve got now not been ready to pay the team of workers salaries for months and needed to downsize the power and scale back the expenditure of the venture to the bottom.” It isn’t transparent how lengthy visas, certificate and different paperwork issued by way of the holdout embassies shall be recognized-either by way of the Taleban or the global group. New passports issued in Kabul nonetheless check with the rustic because the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, as a substitute of the Taleban’s most popular “Emirate”, yet officers have warned overseas reporters arriving with visas issued independently by way of the Dubai embassy that they will not be venerated in long run.

Squeezed out

In a handful of nations close to Afghanistan, some ambassadors have left their posts or been driven out by way of the Taleban, who’ve inserted their very own representatives-but even the replacements face hardship. In Pakistan, salaries have now not been paid since September. Staff live to tell the tale source of revenue from visa and passport renewal charges and marriage certificate, stated a supply on the consulate in Peshawar, close to the Afghan border.

The brand new consul normal appointed by way of the Taleban receives simply 50,000 rupees ($280) a month in comparison with the just about $5,000 his predecessor made, the supply added. The Taleban made Pakistan, lengthy accused of assisting their purpose, the primary nation to which they despatched a brand new consultant. In Beijing, the ambassador resigned when a senior diplomat unswerving to the Taleban was once appointed to the embassy, which he’s now unofficially main. The Taleban have additionally controlled to impose their males in Uzbekistan and Iran. Russia, in the meantime, stated it was once in a position to simply accept “two or 3” new diplomats, yet that they wouldn’t take where of the present ambassador.

‘Threats and intimidation’

The Taleban didn’t reply to AFP’s requests for remark, yet they’ve in the past claimed to in large part have keep watch over over Afghan embassies. On the other hand, they’ve didn’t have one in all their best spokesmen, Suhail Shaheen, approved as ambassador to the United International locations, with the Common Meeting indefinitely suspending a vote at the subject. In Rome, Italian police needed to intrude after a scuffle between the Afghan ambassador and a just lately brushed aside pro-Taleban diplomat who claimed he have been given the highest activity. “There were threats, intimidation and violence in a few of our missions by way of disgruntled ex-employees which might be ideologically pro-Taleban,” stated Khaled Zekriya, the ambassador in Rome.

“The Taleban management attempted to influence our embassy to paintings on their behalf, yet I stated no. “My resolution will keep the similar till an inclusive consultant executive shall be established in Afghanistan, the place the Taleban shall be a component, now not the one phase, of this executive.” The Taleban have additionally despatched delegations from Kabul to Oslo and Geneva, bypassing native embassies, for talks with Western powers. Afghan diplomatic missions-in explicit the ones within the West-united to overtly criticize the Taleban for his or her failure to admire human rights forward of the Oslo talk over with in January. “It’s a troublesome state of affairs,” stated Ghafoorzai, the ambassador to Norway. “However we additionally know that we proceed to constitute a other folks that experience suffered huge difficulties all the way through their historical past.” – AFP