The Taliban spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid told the Associated Press that the group sent their diplomats to at least 14 countries and are seeking to take over more Afghanistan embassies abroad.
“The Islamic Emirate has sent diplomats to at least 14 countries and efforts are underway to take charge of other diplomatic missions abroad,” Zabihullah Mujahid said. “Diplomats of the former government are continuing their activities in coordination with the Foreign Ministry.” He added.
According to Mujahid, the Taliban has sent its diplomats to Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Russia, China, Kazakhstan and other Arab and African countries.
While the Taliban government has sent its diplomats to several countries, Tajikistan remains the only neighboring country of Afghanistan that has not established relations with the group.
On Saturday, the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that their delegation has visited the General-Consulate of Afghanistan in Khorog, the capital city of Tajikistan’s Badakhshan province for assessing its services and it’s building damaged by the recent avalanches.
The ambassador of the previous government of Afghanistan to Tajikistan, Zahir Aghbar tweeted on Saturday that “Diplomatically, the Embassy of Afghanistan in Tajikistan maintains its steadfast operations as usual. The General Consulate in Khorogh sees no official alteration, continuing its consistent work. Tajikistan’s stance on the Taliban remains unambiguous.”
Mahmoud Saikal, the former representative of Afghanistan in the UN, wrote in a tweet Today that embassies and consulates are a part of Afghanistan’s territory, and in the absence of a legitimate system and government, it is the duty of host countries and Afghanistan citizens to protect them.
The Taliban have recently taken control of the Afghanistan embassy in Tehran. Iran called the changes in the Afghanistan embassy an internal matter and said that it has not recognized the Taliban government yet.
Since recapturing the power in August 2021, no country has yet officially recognized the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan. As the group continue to seek recognition, the international community remains wary, with many countries condemning the group’s restrictions on women and girls. However, some countries, including Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar and China, maintained their diplomatic mission in Afghanistan.
