The Taliban-run Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday announced that consular services provided by Afghanistan’s diplomatic missions in Western nations are not acceptable to them.
In a statement, the ministry specified that it does not recognize documents and consular services such as certifications, attestations, no-objection certificates, passport issuance, passport renewal stickers, visa stickers, and other services offered by Afghan diplomatic missions in London, Belgium, Berlin, Bonn, Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy, Greece, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Canada, and Australia.
Taliban has urged Afghan citizens living abroad and foreign nationals to seek the necessary documents from Afghan diplomatic missions under their control in other countries.
Currently, the diplomatic missions in the mentioned countries are still operated by diplomats appointed by the previous Afghan government and do not comply with the Taliban’s directives due to the lack of legitimacy of the Taliban regime.
Some Afghan citizens residing in Western countries have expressed concerns that they already face significant challenges in obtaining consular services from Afghan missions in these countries. They believe the Taliban’s stance will exacerbate these issues.
These citizens argue that, due to the international community’s refusal to recognize the Taliban government, documents issued by the Taliban are not considered valid by institutions in Western countries. Additionally, traveling to other countries to obtain consular services is extremely difficult for them.
This situation arises as the global community, regional players, and Afghanistan’s neighbors have not yet recognized the Taliban. Consequently, many Afghan diplomatic missions around the world continue to be operated by diplomats from the previous government.
