Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
An Afghan news agency claimed on Wednesday that India has appointed an Afghan diplomat to its Consulate General in Mumbai. In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that an Afghan student has been appointed to run the embassy. The government did not grant him diplomat status.
After the Taliban took over Afghanistan, many staff of the embassy in Afghanistan left Afghanistan for Western countries. However, there is a large Afghan population in India, and the embassy is facing difficulties in providing services due to insufficient manpower.
Refusal to appoint diplomats
Briefing on the issue, the Ministry of External Affairs said that over the past three years, many diplomats from Afghan embassies and consulates in India have left India to seek asylum in Western countries. As a result, only one diplomat is left working at the embassy in the country.
In view of this situation, the government has appointed an Afghan student to head the embassy in Mumbai. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that the student was appointed only for care work and was not granted diplomat status.
Taliban not recognized
Regarding the recognition of the current Taliban government in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that there is a process for recognizing any government. India will follow the international community’s decision to recognize the Taliban.
India has not yet recognized the Taliban but has held several representative-level meetings with them. In the same month, India’s Joint Secretary for Afghanistan Affairs Singh met with Afghanistan’s Acting Defense Minister Mullah Jacob.
