NEW DELHI: While the Taliban government is busy cosying up with China, the Taliban’s foreign minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, met with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi in Tibet on Thursday.
Afghan diplomats in India are a harried lot amidst an announcement they made recently that they had to close operations due to lack of funds, infighting, and some diplomats seeking asylum amongst other things.
"The Embassy in Delhi is functional. We are in touch with Afghan diplomats in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad who have raised their concerns and we will assist them,’’ said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday.
While India hasn’t recognized the Taliban government, the Indian Embassy in Kabul is functional. Barring consular services, they are working as a regular embassy – which also includes extending humanitarian assistance to Afghan people.
However, Afghan diplomats have had a lot of infighting amongst themselves. The Afghan Ambassador in Delhi Farid Mamundzay has been in London for the past few months. Besides, Afghan students (close to 3000) have been seeking visas to continue their education in India as they are enrolled in various universities. Visas have not been issued to students from India, however, Afghan students have been given the option to study online.
While the confusion persists in India over the Afghan embassy and lots of Afghan nationals in India are seeking visa extensions, China is pursuing the Taliban.
It is learnt that Afghanistan is looking at China investing in their country in the power sector, besides support in health care and infrastructure.