Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban's deputy foreign minister, announced that the Afghan embassy in New Delhi will reopen in the coming days. Afghan broadcaster RTA was informed by Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai that representatives from the Afghan consulates in Hyderabad and Mumbai had paid the embassy a visit as per directives from Kabul.
The Taliban leader said Afghanistan wants good relations with the neighbouring countries. His comments about resuming operations at the Afghan embassy came days after the mission under the control of Ambassador Farid Mamundzay announced its permanent closure, citing "persistent challenges from the Indian government".
Mamundzay, appointed by the previous Ashraf Ghani government in Kabul, has been out of India for the last few months. Last week, the embassy announced its permanent closure.
The diplomats at the embassy appointed by the previous government had announced on September 30 too that the mission is ceasing its operations from October 1, alleging a "lack of support from the host government".
In April-May, the Afghan embassy was rocked by a power struggle in the wake of reports of the Taliban-appointed charge d'affaires to head the mission replacing Mamundzay.
The embassy released a statement after the incident stating that its leadership remained the same.
The power struggle began when Qadir Shah, who had been employed by the embassy since 2020 as a trade advisor, wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in late April, stating that the Taliban had selected him as the charge d'affaires.