The Taliban is trying to establish control over Afghanistan’s institutions, but there is a vast grey area. The country’s 70 or so diplomatic missions are still operating, doing so independently of the radical regime – which other countries do not recognise- and without direct funding from Kabul. BBC correspondent Zubair Ahmed reports from Delhi.
Visitors to the Afghan embassy in India’s capital – located in a sprawling complex in the middle of the city’s diplomatic enclave – are greeted by a photograph of former President Ashraf Ghani when they enter the building. Mr Ghani fled Afghanistan last August as the Taliban locked in the capital after the fall of his government, which the West backed.
His picture also hangs on the wall of Ambassador Fareed Mamundze’s office, which still bears the black, red and green tricolour flag of the republic, headed by Mr Ghani.
“We have little coordination with the Taliban,” says Mr Mamundzay, whose staff continue to carry out functions like issuing visas and passports in the name of the republic they were appointed to serve.
In the ten months since taking power, the Taliban has sent ambassadors to only four countries: Russia, Pakistan, China and Turkmenistan. But even these countries have not given formal diplomatic recognition to the new rulers of Afghanistan.
The Indian government has allowed the embassy in Delhi to function as an extension of the previous government, as it did during the Taliban’s last term in power between 1996 and 2001 – then the embassy served as the backbone of former President Burhanuddin Rabbani’s government. continued to represent.
Despite the change in power in Kabul, Mr Mamundze says the embassy still follows the rules and policies of the old government that appointed him.
While the Taliban want to take over the affairs of Afghan missions around the world, they have not been able to do so, partly due to a lack of money. Afghanistan’s economy has been crippled since he seized power – foreign aid dried up and the country’s wealth frozen, as the international community tied funds to progress on issues such as human rights and the treatment of women.
Mr Mamundze also says that the Delhi embassy and most of its counterparts in other countries have said they will accept control of the regime on only one condition – the Taliban must first form a national government that is inclusive, diverse and gives women fundamental rights. You give