RASC News Agency: A diplomatic source has confirmed to the media that the British government is closing the Afghanistan embassy in London. According to the source, the UK has asked Afghanistani diplomats at the embassy to hand over the premises to the British government by the end of September. The source further stated that the UK is unwilling to hand over the Afghanistan embassy in London to the Taliban. Additionally, the British government has reportedly asked Afghanistani diplomats to either leave the country or apply for political asylum. British officials have not yet commented on the matter.
Simultaneously, the source revealed that Taliban Prime Minister Hasan Akhund has ordered the dismissal of 12 Afghanistani ambassadors and consuls-general stationed in Europe, the UK, Canada, and Australia. The source added that the prime minister has instructed the revocation of their diplomatic passports. The Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently declared consular services provided by Afghanistan diplomatic missions in London, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy, Greece, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Canada, and Australia as invalid. These missions are still controlled by diplomats from Afghanistan’s former government. The Taliban ministry stated that they had repeatedly requested these missions to collaborate with the ministry on consular affairs, but the diplomats refused.
Following the Taliban’s announcement, Deutsche Welle reported that Germany’s Foreign Ministry had issued an “official notice” to the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry in Kabul in response to the group’s decision. According to the report, Germany’s Foreign Ministry is currently engaging in “technical discussions” with the Taliban administration. In this “official notice” to Kabul, the German Foreign Ministry acknowledged that the Afghanistan consulate in Munich would provide consular services to Afghanistanis across Germany. Currently, Afghanistan embassies in neighboring countries are under Taliban control.
Some embassies still under the management of diplomats from the previous Afghanistan government have cooperated with the Taliban. However, those diplomatic missions that have refused to work with the Taliban have been left paralyzed or completely shut down.
