The Afghan embassy and consulates in the US have been closed and the property of the embassy, including equipment and documents, were handed over to the US Department of State.
The acting head of the Afghanistan embassy in the US, Abdul Hadi Nijrabi, announced on Wednesday that the Afghan embassy in Washington and consulate in New York were closed. He cited financial challenges as the cause.
“With the handing over of the Afghan embassy and consulate property to the US Department of State, all important documents in the archive were obtained by the State Department,” he said.
After the fall of the former government, at least three ambassadors have stepped down from their posts. However, the Afghan embassy in the US is the first to close.
“When an inclusive government is formed in Afghanistan, in which all Afghan men and women are included, then the government will be recognized by the US and can send diplomats,” Nijrabi said.
With the closure of the Afghan embassy and consulates, many Afghans living in the US are currently struggling with getting their personal legal documents in order.
“With the closure of the embassy, the refugees are facing problems because they cannot receive passports and electronic IDs. This is a big problem for the Afghan refugees based in the US,” said Ajmal Zadran, a representative of the Afghan refugees in the US.
“The closing of the Afghan embassy and consulates of a country in another country not only damages the refugees but is considered a blow to the current government,” said Javid Sangdel, a political analyst.
The Islamic Emirate said they will investigate the issue.
“The process of closing the Afghanistan embassy in the US is under investigation,” said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.
The Afghanistan embassy for the first time was opened in 1943 in Washington. It was closed from 1983 until 2002, when it reopened following the US and allies intervention of Afghanistan.
The Afghan embassy in Washington is struggling with financial issues, a top Afghan diplomat said, saying that if the financial problems are not solved, the continuation of Afghanistan’s diplomatic mission in the US will be impossible.
The deputy Afghan ambassador to the US, Abdul Hadi Najrabi, said the US Department of State demanded that the embassy hand over all of its property.
Earlier, the New York Times reported that Afghan diplomats in the US were seeking permission to remain in the US after they lost their pay and faced the possibility of being deported.
“The letter we received on February 1st by the US Department of State, we were asked to accept a date to transfer the property of the embassy to the State Department,” said Najrabi.
According to the deputy Afghan ambassador, the Afghanistan embassy in Washington received several letters from the current Afghan government over establishing ties with the Afghan diplomatic mission in the US.
“However, the Kabul side made demands of us but we gave a negative response because we are still representing the former government,” he said. —Agencies
