The United Nations has removed former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani's name from its list of heads of state, TOLOnews reported on February 22 noting that the list was released on the UN website on February 15.
The name of Mohammad Hanif Atmar, the former foreign minister, also has been removed from the list of ministers for foreign affairs.
Naseer Ahmad Faiq, however, has been named as Chargé affairs of Afghanistan on the list of permanent representatives of states to the UN, according to TOLOnews.
Afghanistan’s seat at the UN reportedly became a contested issue after the resignation of the former ambassador and permanent representative of Afghanistan to the UN Ghulam Mohammad Ishaczai.
After Ishaczai’s resignation, Faiq was appointed as the Chargé d'affaires. However, later Afghanistan’s permanent mission to the UN issued a statement saying that Mohammad Wali Naeemi, deputy representative of the mission, has become Chargé d'affaires of the mission instead of Faiq.
Mohammad Haneef Atmar, calling himself the "foreign minister of the republic government," reportedly had written a letter to the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, saying Naeemi will assume the leadership of the permanent mission as a Chargé d'affaires of Afghanistan.
According to the letter, when Isaczai resigned, based on principle, Naeemi would have assumed the responsibility but since he was ill, Faiq was appointed as the Chargé d'affaires.
The statement reportedly said that as Naeemi was recovered, he has become the Chargé d'affaires of the permanent mission and Faiq will continue working in the mission in his previous role.
“Considering that Naeemi as the deputy representative has recovered, and based on the UN’s standards that after the ambassador and the permanent representative his deputy will take over responsibilities, Naeemi has taken the responsibilities as Chargé d'affaires from February 4, 2022,” reads the statement.
In the statement, Mohammad Haneef Atmar called himself the "foreign minister of Afghanistan."
Talking to TOLOnews on Tuesday, Faiq said Atmar’s letter to the UN was not accepted and Ghani’s and Atmar's name have been removed from the UN system.
