Edited By: Shankhyaneel Sarkar
Last Updated: February 25, 2023, 14:25 IST
The Taliban interim govt is not recognised by the international community and the move could also increase problems for the Iranian government (Image: Reuters)
People familiar with the developments said that Tehran could hand over administration of the embassy to the envoy appointed by Afghanistan’s Taliban-led govt
The Iranian foreign ministry could hand over the administration of the Afghan embassy in Tehran to the Taliban, news agency Khaama Press reported citing an Afghan diplomat.
The Khaama Press also said that the handover process will be completed in the next few days. The development comes shortly after the Taliban-run foreign ministry stated in a letter that Mohammad Afzal Haqqani has been appointed as a designated ambassador to Tehran.
The letter said that Haqqani will be in charge of the diplomatic mission in Iran as the first secretary of the embassy. The report further added that Haqqani travelled from Tehran to Kabul and then returned with his letter of appointment as head of the Afghan Embassy in Tehran.
The Iranian Embassy is yet to accept Haqqani’s appointment, news agencies ANI and Khaama Press reported.
This development could impact Iran as it faces western sanctions due to its refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment program. A recent report said that Iran has enriched its uranium to such an extent that it could soon make nuclear bombs.
The Taliban-run administration lacks internal legitimacy and has also failed to get international recognition and no country in the world has recognized the interim government set up by the Afghan government.
It is facing backlash from the international community for barring women from higher education and pursuing a career and not including minorities in the decision making process.
The only countries who have maintained diplomatic ties with Taliban-ruled Afghanistan are China and Pakistan, though the former has stopped short of formally recognising its interim government.
China has economic and security interests in the war torn country.
China is eyeing Afghanistan’s vast reserves of oil and copper and Chinese oil major Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Company (CAPEIC) entered an agreement with the Taliba government in January to drill oil from the country’s Amu Darya basin. The contract between the Taliban and CAPEIC will run till 2028.
Soon after Kabul fell to the Taliban, Chinese and Taliban officials discussed prospects of copper mining in Mes Aynak, which lies in the south-east of Kabul, one of the world’s biggest copper deposits.
(with inputs from ANI)
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