Afghan diplomats in the United States are seeking permission to remain in the US after they lost their pay and face the possibility of being deported.
The New York Times said in a report that several dozen diplomats who were assigned to Afghani-stan’s embassy in Washington and consulates in New York and Los Angeles have not been paid since the American-backed government was over-thrown in August.
According to the New York Times, they found themselves stateless and without the permits needed to get a job.
“This is not something that we wanted. But it is something that came,” said Abdul Hadi Nejrabi, the Afghan Embassy’s deputy chief of mission, in an interview.
He said that they were living largely on savings, or on loans from relatives, and some had no health insurance.
“The Islamic Emirate has close diplomatic relations with Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan which has made the United States angry,” said Ahmad Khan Andar, political expert.
The report added that last month the State Depart-ment in a memo to Afghan diplomats said they would have an extended diplomatic immunity and residency for 30 days, giving them time to pursue asylum or other legal means to remain in the United States.
“The US State Department assured that these dip-lomats would not be deported and residential per-mission will be given until they find work,” said Tareq Farhadi, political expert.
The Islamic Emirate’s foreign ministry has not commented on the issue yet.—TOLO
