Afghan Embassy In London Officially Closed
Sources told Afghanistan International that the Afghan embassy in London was officially closed on Friday, September 27.
Sources told Afghanistan International that the Afghan embassy in London was officially closed on Friday, September 27.
Afghan Ambassador Zalmai Rassoul was invited to the British Foreign Office on Friday and asked to close the door of the Afghan embassy.
Earlier, after months of trying to force the Afghan embassy in London to interact and cooperate with the group's Foreign Ministry, the Taliban announced that the consular services of the embassy were invalid.
The Taliban's move appears to have influenced the British government's decision to close the embassy.
The ministry has given the Afghan embassy staff 90 days to leave or stay in the UK.
The British Foreign Office has said that the affairs of the embassy will not be handed over to Taliban representatives and that the embassy will be closed for the time being.
The UK is one of the European countries with a large population of Afghan immigrants. The embassy closure makes it difficult for these migrants to access consular services, such as obtaining a power of attorney to divide property.
The Taliban has asked Afghans living in the UK to visit embassies cooperating with the group in Europe to access consular services.
Zalmai Rassoul, the former ambassador to Britain, told the Sunday Times, "It's hard for me to go to official invitations, what should you say when you don't have a government or a country?"
Rassoul had resisted the Taliban's threats and enticements for the past three years and did not respond to the group's Foreign Ministry's requests.
Hanif Atmar, the foreign minister of the former Afghan government, has warned that the closure of the country's diplomatic missions is a historic mistake and will have dire political consequences. Atmar said that closing these agencies will create many legal problems for millions of Afghans.
