Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
September 27, 2024

The Afghan Embassy in London closed its doors as scheduled on September 27 after staff members were fired by the country’s de facto Taliban rulers looking to break ties with diplomats who had remained loyal to the ousted government.

The staff announced on September 8 that the move was “made based on the requirements of the host country’s authorities,” following similar action by other countries that had allowed the diplomatic outposts to operate despite lacking ties to the Taliban, which seized power from the Western-backed government in August 2021.

There was no official announcement on September 27 on the London closure, but a reporter for AFP saw a notice on the gate to the consular section reading: “The embassy of the Republic of Afghanistan is closed.”

The reporter said no one answered the door but that the Afghan flag was still visible at the site.

British authorities said the closing of the embassy did not represent official recognition of the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan, which no country recognizes due to concerns over a woeful human rights record and other failures to live up to promises it made before taking power.

But London acknowledged there was “no alternative to engaging pragmatically with the current administration of Afghanistan.”

Activities of Britain’s mission to Afghanistan are carried out in the Qatari capital, Doha.

Experts have said the embassy closure in London — along with others in the West — are likely to pave the way for more engagement with the Taliban, which controls all of Afghanistan’s territory and has increased its hold on power.

Afghan embassies in many nations continued to operate with diplomatic staff loyal to the previous government despite the Taliban takeover at home, angering the de facto rulers.

The Taliban announced in July that it was cutting ties with 14 such missions in Western countries and that it would not accept any consular documents they processed, a critical source of funding to keep them running.

The affected sites included those in Canada, Australia, France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Germany.

The Taliban “has repeatedly urged the Afghan political and consular in European countries to engage with Kabul to at least address consular service-related issues of Afghans and provide better services for Afghan citizens,” the statement released by the group’s Foreign Ministry said on July 30.

Russia, Pakistan, and China host Afghan embassies working with approval of the Taliban-led government.

With reporting by AFP

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