As the Taliban continue their relentless attacks and capturing of districts across Afghanistan, reports have emerged of some countries including India closing down or restricting activities of their consulates in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif, which serves as the capital of the country’s northern province of Balkh. The province has been affected by violence but the capital city has largely remained peaceful.
According to a news report by the Associated Press, the consulates of Turkey and Russia in the city have shut down and their diplomats have left Mazar-e-Sharif. The claim was made by Munir Farhad who is the spokesperson for Balkh’s governor. He further said that the number of services had been reduced in the consulates of India, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan.
Iran has already said that it has reduced activities at its Mazar-e-Sharif consulate.
The Indian embassy in Kabul, on Tuesday, denied that its consulates in Mazar and Kandahar had been closed down. “We do however continue to closely monitor the evolving security situation particularly around Kandahar & Mazar cities,” the embassy clarified.
Media reports on #India closing its Embassy & Consulates in 🇦🇫are incorrect. @IndianEmbKabul, Consulates in Kandahar & Mazar are open, functioning. We DO HOWEVER continue to closely monitor the evolving security situation particularly around Kandahar & Mazar cities. @MEAIndia
— India in Afghanistan (@IndianEmbKabul) July 6, 2021
In another significant development for the region, neighboring Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rakhmon ordered the country’s 20,000 military reserve troops to mobilize at the border with Afghanistan. The deployment has been ordered after more than a thousand Afghan soldiers took refuge in Tajikistan to escape the Taliban’s onslaught in Afghanistan’s Badakshan province. According to the Tajik government, Afghan soldiers have been allowed to stay on a humanitarian basis.
A major border crossing between the two countries has already been captured by the Taliban.
Meanwhile, the US completed a major part of its withdrawal process after the US military vacated the Bagram airbase, a sprawling military base that had served as the central point for the country’s War on Terror in Afghanistan.
