The Taliban* has denied claims made by officials of Afghanistan’s Embassy in India, wherein they stated that it was closed.
"Effective from November 23, 2023, owing to persistent challenges from the Indian government. The decision follows the embassy’s earlier cessation of operations on September 30, a move made in the hope that the Indian government stance will favorably change to let the mission operate normally," the Embassy had said in a statement last week.
However, the Taliban's Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Abbas Stanikzai, stressed that the Afghan Embassy and consulates in India were operational, and the staff there was in constant contact with the ministry.
"The claim made by someone named Naemi, who was a diplomat and stated that the embassy is closed and services are not provided, is false. Our consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad are operational. I have spoken to them, and they have reopened the embassy," Stanikzai was quoted as saying in Afghan media on Wednesday.
The Afghan embassy in India had previously been the subject of a tug-of-war between its previous staffers, appointed by the erstwhile government of President Ashraf Ghani, and its current Taliban rulers.
On the other hand, the Taliban has publicly stated that it would not allow its soil to be used for anti-India activities.
*The Taliban is under UN sanctions for extremism.