Naqibullah Dehqanzada, acting head of the Afghan Consulate in Khorog, the capital of Tajikistan’s Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region, or GBAO, has stated that the Consulate operates under direct support and supervision of the Taliban-run Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Dehqanzada issued a statement to confirm the Afghan consulate’s connection with the Taliban after the former Afghan government’s ambassador to Tajikistan tore up the appointment of a letter of a Taliban diplomat in the embassy.
On November 9, Zia Ahmad Takal, a deputy spokesperson for the Taliban-run Foreign Ministry, published Dehqanzada's video statement and wrote on X social media platform (formerly Twitter) that the Afghan consulate in Khorog is operating under the supervision of the group.
The statement was made in response to words of former Afghan government’s ambassador to Tajikistan Mohammad Zahir Aghbar, who said that the Afghan Consulate in Khorog had been closed for financial reasons.
In a report released at a press conference in Dushanbe, Mr. Aghbar stated on November 7 that employees of the Afghan Consulate-General in Khorog will continue their work in Dushanbe.
“Our Consulate in Khorog is in no way in the hands of the Taliban. We have temporary closed it due to lack of economic opportunities, and our colleagues will continue working here (in the office of Afghanistan’s diplomatic mission in Dushanbe – Asia-Plus),” he said.
In the video, Dehqanzada considered Aghbar's statement as "irresponsible and lacking in truth". He clarified that “the Afghan Consulate in Khorog is directly supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban and operates according to its principles and legal powers.”
The Taliban-run Foreign Ministry recently appointed a person named Faizullah as the First Secretary at Afghanistan’s Embassy in Dushanbe.
Following his introduction, Aghbar tore up the Taliban diplomat's introduction letter at the press conference on November 7.
Aghbar said that until a legitimate government is formed in Afghanistan, he will protect the country's diplomatic mission in Tajikistan. He called this embassy "the trust of the Afghan people."
However, Dehqanzada claimed that after the collapse of the previous government, the scope of activities of the consulate has expanded for services such as issuing passports and issuing visas for Afghans living in Tajikistan.
He acknowledged that there is coordination with the authorities of Tajikistan in the areas of transit, trade, and border issues.
Recall, media reports said in late March this year that the Afghan consulate in Khorog has passed under the control of the Taliban regime, while staff at the main diplomatic mission in Dushanbe are still considering their options, a diplomatic source has said.
A representative of the Dushanbe embassy, who spoke to Eurasianet on condition of anonymity on March 27, said the Khorog consulate is issuing Afghan passports and that staff have been receiving salaries from the Taliban for the last two months.
The Taliban-run Foreign Ministry said in a statement on March 26 that one of its senior representatives has visited the city, which lies across the Panj River from Afghanistan, to check on the activities of the mission and to inspect repair works.
