Pakistan Quietly Allows Taliban-Appointed Diplomats To Take Charge Of Afghan Embassy & Consulates

<p><strong>New Delhi:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Pakistan has quietly allowed the Taliban-appointed diplomats to take charge of the Afghan embassy and consulates in the country, news agency PTI cited a media report as informing on Saturday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This reported development comes as Pakistan does not recognise the Taliban as the legitimate government in Kabul, nevertheless, visas have been issued to the appointed diplomats.</span></p> <p><strong>ALSO READ |<span style="color: #e03e2d;"> <a style="color: #e03e2d;" title="" href="https://ift.tt/3GL07t0" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-toggle="tooltip" data-html="true" data-original-title="Story ID: 1490564">&lsquo;Very Warm Meeting&rsquo;: PM Modi On Visiting Pope Francis At Vatican, Invites Him To Come To India</a></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to the report by the Dawn newspaper, Sardar Muhammad Shokaib has started working as the first secretary in the Afghan embassy in Islamabad, while Hafiz Mohibullah, Mullah Ghulam Rasool, and Mullah Muhammad Abbas have been assigned to the Peshawar, Quetta, and Karachi consulates of Afghanistan.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shokaib would effectively be the Afghan charge d'affaires in Islamabad, PTI informed citing the report.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Afghan embassy remained without an ambassador since July when the last envoy under the previous regime, Najibullah Alikhil, left because of the alleged abduction of his daughter Silsila Alikhil.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While details about Sardar Muhammad Shokaib are awaited, a report by Voice of America mentions that he is an ethnic Pashtun from Zabul province who served in the Information and Cultural Department in southern Kandahar and was associated with a Taliban magazine.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He was reported to have once worked as the Taliban spokesman under the name of Qari Yousaf Ahmadi and was arrested in Pakistan and later lived in Peshawar for several years.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Meanwhile, Pakistan&rsquo;s Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar tried to play down the new appointments by saying that it was an &ldquo;administrative matter&rdquo;.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&ldquo;With regard to appointment of new staff in the Afghan embassy, this is an administrative matter and is meant to enable the embassy to perform its functions, primarily the consular functions as you are aware there are millions of Afghan refugees in Pakistan and there are visa issues as well,&rdquo; he said, as mentioned in the news agency&rsquo;s report.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Recently, Pakistan has been trying to convince the world to diplomatically engage with the Taliban after they established their de-facto control on Afghanistan on August 15.&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, the world continues to be skeptical, trying to assess the ultra-conservative regime on promises to respect human rights before any kind of recognition.</span></p>