New Delhi: The growing tensions between the former republic government of Afghanistan and the Taliban has now come out in the open right at the heart of India’s capital city, and Ambassador Farid Mamundzay, who was appointed by the former government, believes India should support him against the radical Islamist group’s intentions to overthrow him and take over the embassy.
In an exclusive interview to ABP Live, Mamundzay said New Delhi should resolve the issue and put “more pressure” on the Taliban government in Kabul to create an inclusive government.
"We expect the relevant Indian authorities to take reasonable and appropriate steps in line with diplomatic norms while considering the great historic Indo-Afghan friendship. It's an issue of great significance to the Afghan mission and moral and diplomatic principles,” Mamundzay told ABP Live.
The imbroglio began on April 28 when Qadir Shah, the Trade Counsellor of the Embassy of Afghanistan in New Delhi, wrote a letter to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stating that he has been appointed as the Chargé d'Affaires while Mamundzay was on personal leave to meet his family in Europe.
"The 40 million Afghan people, held hostage by 100,000 Taliban, require solidarity, support and ongoing assistance. We appreciate the consistent position of India to consider the interest of all Afghan citizens post August 2021. However, more work and efforts are required to change the status quo,” he added.
After the letter came to light, Mamundzay said, he realised that Shah had teamed up with the Taliban government in Kabul. He said he had to cut short his visit and came back to India. He has also stopped Shah from entering the embassy premises.
According to official sources, this is an “internal matter” for the Afghan Embassy and India will not “interfere” as New Delhi’s stand on the matter is well known.
India has not recognised the Taliban government officially, but it has been holding dialogues with them since they came back to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. India also reopened the Indian Embassy in Kabul in June 2022.
“It is an issue of principles and morality. My colleagues stood beside me in difficult times and they continued with their selfless service. There have been instances where they had to work on little incentives. They accepted many hardships for the larger interests of the Afghans both in India and in Afghanistan. Continuity under such circumstances becomes quite difficult. We don't know for how long but as long as we can, we would (continue at the mission),” Mamundzay said, adding that the diplomats working at the mission have barely managed to earn their salaries but still did not take the support of the Taliban government, which continues to send letters and directives to them.
Earlier this week, Shah went to the media with a statement where he said he is "not affiliated to any political movement” even as he alleged that Mamundzay had been “making money out of misery of Afghan people”.
We Know It’s A Lost Battle: Mamundzay
Mamundzay said he had been constantly in touch with the MEA for issuance of visas to Afghan nationals, especially students and patients, on humanitarian grounds.
"We have been sharing the request of many Afghans with the MEA and other relevant officials to consider the needs and requirements of Afghan people on humanitarian grounds, particularly, those of students and patients,” he said.
“I hope that they will have reached a realisation now and they will relax the policy on issuance of visas in the near future. Over 2,600 students have missed two years of their education because of the strict visa policy imposed on Afghan citizens,” envoy Mamundzay added.
“The job of any diplomatic mission is to strengthen bilateral ties in every possible sphere between the people of those two countries. When there is no physical interaction, no engagement, visits, exchange of ideas, education programmes then you naturally create that gap,” he stressed.
The ambassador also admitted that this is a “lost battle” for him and his colleagues at the embassy in the absence of a proper government.
"We know that it's a lost battle. Our army no longer exists, the ministries have been dismantled, there is no President or Foreign Minister. How long will these Embassies last? Not for too long. But Afghans are resilient people. We have managed to find a way and we are not too far away from finding a way out of this crisis,” he said.
Mamundzay noted that a consensus is being built among many Afghan elites, many Afghan politicians and members of the international community to push the Taliban to form a proper government.
"In the past 21 months, no country has given the Taliban any recognition. They can do whatever they want, they can say whatever they want to but in practical terms two-thirds of the country is faced with food shortage,” he said.
‘Taliban Has To Be Engaged’
According to Mamundzay, the Taliban should not be isolated and they have to be engaged.
“We need to engage the Taliban. The Taliban is a powerful group. We can't rule it out and can't rule out the fact that there should not be any Taliban. The Taliban is part of our society. We've acknowledged that,” Mamundzay said.
He stressed: “But they are not the only part of our society. There exists a bigger and better Afghan society. Everyone needs to be taken on board. Politics of exclusion has not worked anywhere across the world. The way the Taliban is leading the country with politics of exclusion, it's counterproductive not only to the social fabric of Afghanistan but also to the larger security of this region.”
He also said that all countries should put pressure on the Taliban to form an inclusive government where all ethnicities of the Afghan society will have a crucial role to play.
“I think the pressure has worked in some areas, in other areas we see that they have not targeted former government officials as brutally as they could have. They have targeted them, there have been chilling stories of extra judicial killings, executions and imprisonments. But at the same time, they know that there are certain boundaries. Had they crossed those boundaries, there would have been repercussions,” he added.