India: We Will Maintain Our Embassy in Kabul But Without An Ambassador

 

“At this time in Afghanistan, we have what we had. — So, we have decided to maintain an embassy, not at an ambassador level yet. Many other countries have done it, but I should tell you that many countries have sent back their ambassadors; we have not done so, and we have focused on areas which we believe will impact the Afghan people and will be recognized by the Afghan people. So, it was food support initially, providing vaccines; it is providing medicines to a hospital we built many years ago. That is broadly where we are at this stage, but how do we go further, I think we will have to wait and see. The fact is, at the end of the day, we are not in a position in Afghanistan or many other places to necessarily say I will work with a regime I like, I cannot be utterly unrealistic about what has happened in Afghanistan,” Jaishankar noted.

 

Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate appointed Qadri Shah as the head of the Embassy of Afghanistan in New Delhi. However, he was not accepted by the Afghan diplomats and staff of the Embassy.

 

India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the current issues involving the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi are an internal matter from India’s point of view.

 

It also said that India hopes the Afghan authorities can resolve the current issue with the Embassy.

 

“From our perspective, this is an internal matter of the Afghan Embassy, and we hope they would resolve it internally,” Indian FM spokesperson Bagchi said.

 

Meanwhile, the Indian government, in a recent humanitarian aid, send 20,000 metric tons of wheat to Afghanistan amid a humanitarian crisis in the country.

 

The humanitarian aid sent via Iran’s Chabahar port could significantly support needy people.