London: Afghanistan’s embassy in London is being shut down after it was disowned by the country’s Taliban rulers, the UK government said Monday.
The Foreign Office said “the embassy is being closed following the dismissal of its staff by the Taliban.” Britain does not recognise the Taliban government.
Ambassador Zalmai Rassoul wrote on the social network X that the embassy would shut its doors on Sept. 27 “at the official request of the host country.”
Diplomats who served under Afghanistan’s former Western-backed government were left in limbo when the Taliban seized Kabul and returned to power in August 2021. Many embassies in Europe and beyond have continued to operate, but have been accused by Kabul of failing to cooperate with the government. Afghanistan has sent Taliban-approved diplomats to some countries, including Pakistan and China.
The UK decision comes after the Taliban administration announced in July that it no longer recognised diplomatic missions set up by the former government and that documents issued by embassies in Britain and 13 other mostly European countries were invalid.