Diplomatic Briefing
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!Archive for Afghanistan
Newsline: Afghanistan’s Taliban sends new ambassador to Beijing
Afghanistan’s Taliban administration has appointed a former spokesperson as ambassador to China, the foreign affairs ministry said on Friday, its first officially accredited envoy to any country since taking over in 2021. Former administration spokesman Bilal Karimi arrived in China late in November to take up the role, the Taliban-run foreign ministry said in a statement. “He is the official accredited ambassador of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to the People’s Republic of China,” ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi told Reuters, adding that he was the first such envoy since the 2021 takeover. (https://neuters.de/world/asia-pacific/afghanistans-taliban-sends-new-ambassador-beijing-2023-12-01/) China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of office hours. The Chinese government has not said whether it regards the move as a step towards official recognition. The previous Taliban official sent to run the Afghan embassy in Beijing was a charge d’affaires, a post that does not require presentation of ambassadorial credentials to the host, a step that depends on formal recognition of the envoy’s government. No country, including China, has officially recognised the Taliban’s government since their takeover as U.S. forces withdrew. In September, China became the first country to formally name a new ambassador to Afghanistan since the takeover. Several other nations have charges d’affaires or ambassadors who presented their credentials under the previous government.
Newsline: China becomes first to name new ambassador to Afghanistan under Taliban
China became the first country on Wednesday to formally name a new ambassador to Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, after its envoy presented credentials at a ceremony in Kabul. The Taliban have not been officially recognised by any foreign government, and Beijing did not indicate whether Wednesday’s appointment signalled any wider steps towards formal recognition of the Taliban. “This is the normal rotation of China’s ambassador to Afghanistan, and is intended to continue advancing dialogue and cooperation between China and Afghanistan,” China’s foreign ministry said in a statement. “China’s policy towards Afghanistan is clear and consistent.” A Taliban administration foreign ministry spokesman told Reuters new envoy Zhao Xing was the first ambassador from any country to take up the post since August 2021, when the Taliban took over as U.S.-led foreign forces withdrew after 20 years. Mohammad Hassan Akhund, acting prime minister in the Taliban administration, had accepted the new envoy’s credentials in a ceremony, the Taliban administration’s deputy spokesman, Bilal Karimi, said in a statement. (https://neuters.de/world/asia-pacific/taliban-say-chinese-envoy-appointed-kabul-first-ambassadorial-appointment-since-2023-09-13/) China’s previous ambassador to Afghanistan, Wang Yu, took up the role in 2019 and finished his tenure last month. There are other diplomats in Kabul with the title of ambassador, but all of them took up their posts before the Taliban takeover. Other countries and bodies, such as Pakistan and the European Union, have since sent senior diplomats to lead diplomatic missions using the title ‘charge d’affaires’, which does not require presenting ambassadorial credentials to the host nation.
Newsline: Russian envoy denies plans to close embassy in Afghanistan
Zamir Kabulov, director of the Second Asian Department of the Russian Foreign Minister, said Russia has no intentions to close its diplomatic mission in Kabul, TASS reported. “Such thoughts have not even occurred,” Kabulov said when asked whether Russia had such plans. (https://www.khaama.com/russia-has-no-plans-to-close-its-embassy-in-afghanistan-says-envoy/) The Al-Arabiya TV channel stated that several governments have opted to close their embassies in Kabul due to security concerns. According to the foreign ministry of Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Kabul was closed on February 2 due to the security threats of possible attacks on the diplomatic mission by ISIS. Based on the confirmed source from the Saudi Arabian foreign ministry, ISIS was preparing to use a car bomb to strike the Saudi diplomatic mission in Kabul. As a result, they closed the embassy in Kabul and evacuated the staff to Islamabad.
Newsline: Saudi Arabia said to close embassy in Kabul
Some unconfirmed news suggest that Saudi Arabia has closed down its embassy in Kabul and evacuated 19 members of its diplomatic mission in the city. “According to reports of Afghan journalists, Saudi Arabia has closed down its embassy in Kabul, and has evacuated 19 of its staff,” Afghan Journalist Saeedullah Safi tweeted late Saturday. (https://en.mehrnews.com/news/197044/Saudi-Arabia-reportedly-closes-its-embassy-in-Kabul) Official Saudi sources have not confirmed the news yet. Ealier in August 2021, Saudi Arabia had evacuated members of its diplomatic mission in Kabul due to the unstable conditions in Afghanistan.
Newsline: Chinese embassy in Kabul monitoring consequences of attack near Chinese hotel
Armed men opened fire on Monday inside a hotel in central Kabul popular with Chinese nationals in an attack that ended when at least three gunmen were killed by security forces, the Taliban-run administration said. Two foreigners were injured while trying to escape by jumping from the hotel balcony, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on Twitter. Taliban sources said the attack was carried out at Longan Hotel where Chinese and other foreigners usually stay. (https://neuters.de/world/asia-pacific/armed-men-open-fire-kabul-building-housing-foreigners-sources-2022-12-12/) The attack came a day after China’s ambassador met the Afghan deputy foreign minister to discuss security-related matters and sought more attention on the protection of its embassy. China’s state-run Xinhua news agency said the attack happened near a Chinese guesthouse and its embassy in Kabul was closely monitoring the situation. The embassy did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Several bombings have taken place in Afghanistan in recent months, including an attack on the Pakistan embassy earlier this month and a suicide blast near the Russian embassy in September. Both attacks were claimed by the Islamic State.
Newsline: Suspect arrested in Pakistan Embassy attack in Afghanistan
A member of the militant Islamic State group has been arrested in last week’s shooting attack targeting the Pakistani Embassy in Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul, the spokesman of the Taliban government said. (https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/IS-suspect-arrested-in-Pakistan-Embassy-attack-in-17631613.php) The attack, in which shots were fired at the embassy from a nearby building, triggered anger in Pakistan, and increased tensions between the two South Asian neighbors.
Newsline: Pakistani embassy in Kabul attacked
Pakistan’s embassy in Kabul came under attack on Friday with gunfire wounding a Pakistani security guard, officials said, in what Islamabad called an attempt to assassinate its head of mission, who was unhurt. It was not immediately clear who was behind the embassy attack. A spokesperson for Kabul police said the embassy compound was targeted by gunfire from a nearby building. Police had arrested one suspect and recovered two firearms, the statement said. (https://news.yahoo.com/pakistan-says-kabul-head-mission-124717250.html) Pakistan’s Foreign Office said the attack had been aimed at the head of mission, Ubaid-ur-Rehman Nizamani. It said Nizamani was safe, but a Pakistani security guard, Sepoy Israr Mohammad, was critically wounded in the attack while protecting the ambassador.
Newsline: Japanese ambassador meets Taliban official
The Taliban say one of their top officials has met with Japan’s ambassador to Afghanistan. This comes after Japan partially reopened its embassy in Kabul last month. The Taliban said their acting interior minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, held talks with Okada Takashi in the capital on Sunday. (https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20221024_40/) The embassy said both sides exchanged candid views on issues including girls’ education and media freedom. Japan temporarily closed the embassy after the Taliban regained power last year. The meeting between Haqqani and Okada took place at a time when the international community is considering how to deal with the Taliban. The group has not been recognized as a legitimate government by any country so far.
Newsline: ISIS claim responsibility for suicide bombing outside Russian embassy in Kabul
The terrorist group known as ISIS have claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing in Afghanistan. (https://euroweeklynews.com/2022/09/06/breaking-news-multiple-casualties-after-suicide-bombing-outside-russian-embassy-in-kabul-afghanistan/) Two Russian diplomats have reportedly been killed in the suicide bombing outside the Russian embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, as reported on Monday, September 5. The suicide bomber reportedly blew himself up outside the Russian embassy in Kabul, while waiting in line for visas. The attack outside the consular section of the Russian Embassy in Kabul took place as a member of the section came out to read out a list of those waiting in line for a visa, Afghan media reported.
Newsline: Two Russian embassy staff killed in Kabul bombing
A bomb exploded near the Russian embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday morning, officials said. Two Russian embassy staff were killed on Monday in a blast near the country’s diplomatic mission in Kabul, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Russia’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that at 10:50 am Kabul time, an unknown militant set off an explosive device in the immediate vicinity of the entrance to the consular section of the Russian Embassy in Kabul. “As a result of the attack, two employees of the diplomatic mission were killed, and there are also victims among Afghan citizens,” the ministry said. (https://www.newsweek.com/explosion-russian-embassy-kabul-afghanistan-diplomats-kabul-1739779) The explosion happened near the embassy building located in the Darul Aman area, southwest of Kabul, Khaama Press reported. Russian state run news agency TASS cited the Arabic TV channel Al Arabiya as saying that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.
Diplomatic Briefing 