What is the Controversy at the Afghan Consulate in Mashhad About?

The Afghan consulate in Mashhad is experiencing turmoil due to conflicts among the Taliban, diplomats of the former government, and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Sources in Mashhad report that the Taliban attempted to send a new consul-general to the city without notifying the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to documents obtained by Afghanistan International, on Tuesday, the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent an official letter summoning Abdul Jaber Ansar, the Afghan Consul-General in Mashhad, to Kabul.

Abdul Jaber Ansar was appointed as the Afghan Consul General in Mashhad in 2019 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

The official letter from the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that since Sunday, May 26, Ansar has been assigned as the Deputy Director of Treaty Affairs for Asia and Africa in the Directorate of Legal and Treaty Affairs within the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Sources from the Afghan consulate in Mashhad informed Afghanistan International that on Monday, May 27, Nasir Ahmad Haqqani, a Taliban member, arrived in Mashhad from Tehran and introduced himself as the new Consul General of Afghanistan in the city.

Haqqani also works as the First Secretary to the Taliban’s ambassador in Tehran.

According to sources, Haqqani intended to take over the responsibilities of the Afghan consulate without the knowledge of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Consequently, Ansar refused to hand over the consulate responsibilities to him and informed Haqqani that any changes at the consulate must be conducted through official channels in accordance with international conventions.

Sources from the Afghan consulate in Mashhad indicated that Ansar's stance was that "anyone replacing the Afghan Consul General must go through diplomatic procedures, with the Taliban first submitting their request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the host country, the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Sources stated that Ansar told the Taliban representatives that any further decisions regarding the new consul general would only be made after the approval of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

What is the Taliban's Stance?

Zakir Jalali, an official from the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, referred to Ansar as the "former Consul General of Afghanistan in Mashhad" on his social media page on Friday, stating that his duties ended "by the order of the Prime Minister”.

Jalali mentioned that a new diplomat would be sent to Mashhad to replace the diplomat from the previous Afghan government. "Until the new diplomat arrives, a diplomat from the Afghan Embassy in Tehran will oversee consulate affairs, and the First Secretary of the consulate will continue providing consular services as an interim measure."

Financial corruption accusations at the Afghan Consulate in Mashhad

In his statement, the Taliban official mentioned that Afghan immigrants in Mashhad "require transparent and standard consular services" and that one of the priorities of the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to “combat administrative corruption”.

Jalali claimed that "during the previous regime, a vast network of administrative corruption was spread from the consular department to overseas missions. After eradicating corruption at the centre, the second phase of eliminating corruption in overseas consular departments is underway."

He directly accused Ansar of being significantly involved in administrative corruption.

"Financial matters of Mashhad consulate under control of the Taliban"

While the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the Afghan Consul General in Mashhad of corruption, sources from this consulate told Afghanistan International that all consular affairs and "income sources of the Mashhad consulate" are currently under the control of the Taliban's appointees.

Sources explained that all revenue sources of the Afghan consulate in Mashhad, including visa issuance, certification, identity verification, passport issuance, and renewal, are managed by four diplomats sent by the Taliban from Kabul to Mashhad.

According to our sources, Maulawi Abdul Sami Samim, Anwar Nabil, and Fazl Rahman Ataee work as secretaries at the consulate, all introduced by the Taliban, and control all financial matters.

In addition to these three, the Taliban have also sent another temporary diplomat named Ashraf Yad to Mashhad. Sources mentioned that the refugee attaché and two cultural affairs staff at the Afghan consulate in Mashhad are also individuals hired and sent by the Taliban from Kabul.

The Afghan consulate in Mashhad has a total of 64 local employees. In this diplomatic office, besides the seven Taliban envoys, two diplomats from the previous Afghan government are still working.

A source from the Afghan consulate in Mashhad told Afghanistan International that the Taliban use accusations of administrative corruption as a tool to remove professional and experienced consulate staff and replace them with their own appointees.

According to consulate sources, the Afghan consulate in Mashhad is the only diplomatic representation of Afghanistan in Iran where all financial matters are conducted through the ATM banking system instead of money exchanges.

Meanwhile, sources sent official documents to Afghanistan International indicating that Mohammad Musa Amiri, the head of financial and administrative affairs at the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "commended Ansar's responsibility" in his official letters.

Sources questioned Jalali's allegations, stating, "If the Taliban's intention behind the consulate changes was to fight corruption and Ansar was involved in corruption, then why did the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs appoint him as the “Deputy Director of Treaty Affairs for Asia and Africa in the Directorate of Legal and Treaty Affairs within the ministry?"

What is the position of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

Statements from the spokesperson of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicate that Iran has not yet approved the change of the Afghan Consul General in Mashhad.

Nasser Kanaani, the spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced in a press conference in Tehran on Thursday, that on the May 18, during a meeting between the Taliban's chargé d'affaires in Tehran and the Director-General of South Asia Affaires at the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, necessary explanations were provided for the appointment of the new Afghan Consul General in Mashhad.

The spokesperson of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that any changes to the Afghan consulate staff in Mashhad must comply with the 1963 Vienna Convention.

Kanaani explained that new individuals "must be introduced to the host government through defined channels and, after obtaining the host government's agreement and receiving visas, enter the host country for the designated mission and commence their specified duties”.

The spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the necessary explanations have also been communicated to the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials through various channels.