KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Oman has handed over the Afghanistan embassy in Muscat to Taliban-appointed diplomats, according to the Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Hafiz Zia Ahmad, the deputy spokesperson for the Taliban Foreign Ministry, announced that embassy activities and services began last Sunday.
He commended Oman for handing over the Afghan embassy to the Taliban, stating that the move strengthens political, economic, social, and religious relations between Kabul and Muscat.
The Taliban authorities did not provide further details about the development, including who has been appointed as the regime’s ambassador to the country.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Oman has yet to comment on the development.
Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, no country has officially recognized them as the legitimate government. However, many neighboring and regional countries have reopened their embassies in Afghanistan and transferred the Afghan embassies to the regime.
Russia, China, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and India are among the nations that have maintained or reinstated a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan. A few of these countries have also handed over the Afghan embassy to the Taliban.
However, to date, China, Kazakhstan, and the UAE are the only countries to have officially accepted the letter of credence from the Taliban-appointed ambassador in their capitals. China was the first to appoint a new ambassador to its embassy in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
The rest of the world, including the UN, has repeatedly emphasized that the normalization of relations with the Taliban regime depends on their commitment to upholding human rights, combating terrorism, and establishing an inclusive government in the country.
Recently, the Taliban authorities have intensified their pressure on other countries to transfer control of the Afghan diplomatic missions to the regime. Earlier in June, the Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it would no longer accept the services of embassies in Europe and the UK that have not been in contact with the regime.
According to the embassy, the missions that have been in contact with the regime include the Afghan embassy in the Netherlands, Spain, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic, as well as a consulate in Munich.
Following the announcement, the Afghan embassies in Norway, the UK, and Germany announced the cessation of their services in response to official requests from the host countries. Two of these embassies have already closed, and the one in the UK is scheduled to close on September 27.
