As the third anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan approaches, the powers-that-be in Kabul have severed ties with 14 Afghan diplomatic missions.
In a July 30 post on X (formerly Twitter), Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a notice for “all Afghan Nationals residing in European countries!” which stated that the Taliban government would not recognize consular and other documents issued by 14 diplomatic missions, most of them located in Europe, which it accused of refusing to engage with Kabul and taking “arbitrary” actions.
The missions, as named in the statement, include both embassies and consulates, specifically: “London, Belgium, Berlin, Bonn, Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy, Greece, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Canada, and Australia.” And the documents affected range from passports to visa stickers, as well as deeds and other endorsements. Essentially, anything an Afghan citizen would require in terms of official documentation from an embassy while residing or traveling abroad will not be recognized by Kabul as valid if issued by one of the named missions.
The statement urges Afghans living abroad and foreign nationals to visit Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IAE) – the official name adopted by the Taliban government – political and consular missions in other countries to access consular services.
Left unsaid in the Taliban statement is the fact that the missions named are those that the Taliban have not been able to take control of or establish a working relationship with. Many of Afghanistan’s diplomatic properties remain in the hands of officials of the erstwhile Republic government; many of them have been largely inactive. Nevertheless, the persistence of alternative claims to Afghanistan’s international presence undercuts the Taliban’s desired aim to achieve international recognition for itself.
In March of last year, the Taliban government said it was trying to take control of the country’s diplomatic missions abroad. Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said at the time, “The Islamic Emirate has sent diplomats to at least 14 countries and efforts are underway to take charge of other diplomatic missions abroad… Diplomats of the former government are continuing their activities in coordination with the Foreign Ministry.”
Over the course of 2022 and 2023, the Taliban secured access to the former government’s diplomatic properties in a number of countries, including those in Central Asia. In December 2023, China became the first country to officially accept a Taliban-appointed ambassador. Beijing insists that this did not confer recognition on the Taliban government.
In October 2023, the Afghan diplomatic missions in Spain and the Netherlands confirmed that they were cooperating with the Islamic Emirate. They were not included in the list of disavowed missions. For Afghans in Europe, where most of the embassies with which Kabul has broken ties are, these two countries remain their only avenues for consular services. Documents like passports require periodic renewal to remain valid; however, it is not yet clear how this decision will affect how host countries interact, or don’t, with the affected Afghan missions.
With this move, the Taliban has taken yet another step to assert itself internationally. Which officials a country recognizes as representing a country – by issuing its passports and visas – confers a degree of legitimacy.