'Will continue to support Afghan nationals living in India': MEA on Afghanistan Embassy ceasing operations in New Delhi

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said that India will continue to provide consular support to Afghan nationals, especially students, living in the country despite the shutdown of the Afghan embassy in New Delhi.

“We hope that a substantial number of Afghan nationals, including students, in India are able to continue to receive necessary consular support. On our part, we will continue to assist the people of Afghanistan,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

VIDEO | “The (Afghanistan) Embassy indicated that it intends to suspend operations at the end of September. Of course, such a decision is an internal matter of a foreign mission. However, we have noted that the Afghan consulates general in Mumbai and in Hyderabad voiced their… pic.twitter.com/liWOj0toxS

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 5, 2023

Last month, the Afghan Embassy announced its suspension of operations in New Delhi, citing “failure to meet expectations and requirements necessary to serve the best interests of Afghanistan due to the lack of diplomatic support in India and the absence of a legitimate functioning government in Kabul,” as one of its reasons.

Bagchi said that the Indian government has noted that a large number of Afghan nationals have left the country in the recent part.

The MEA spokesperson reiterated that the Afghan Consulate’s decision to shut down operations in the national capital would not affect the assistance provided to Afghan nationals and students living in India.

The embassy said that this decision, while deeply regrettable, was made after careful consideration, taking into account the historic ties and long-standing partnership between Afghanistan and India.

The embassy statement also listed key factors affecting its ability to continue the mission effectively and said that they were the primary reasons for the “unfortunate closure”.

The embassy had been headed by Ambassador Farid Mamundzay.

Mamundzay was appointed by the previous Ashraf Ghani government and he has been operating as the Afghan envoy even after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

With inputs from PTI