Dushanbe's 'ambiguous' relations with (pre)Taliban Afghanistan

 In Tajikistan, the embassy in Kabul is still active with the representative appointed by the previous Ghani executive, before the rise of the Koranic students. There are doubts about the management of the structure and the coverage of operating expenses. The shadows on political and economic relations between the two countries.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - Surprisingly, the Afghan embassy dating back to the government before the return of the Taliban in August 2021 is still active in Dushanbe, with the protection of the Tajik government in strong tension with the current leadership in Kabul.

Ambassador Mohammad Zahir Agbar, appointed by Ashraf Ghani's government, has maintained the diplomatic headquarters and considers himself the authentic representative of the Afghan people.

Agbar then carried out a demonstrative action, blatantly tearing up in front of journalists the letter that the Taliban had spread via social networks, in which he communicated the decision of the provisional foreign minister of Kabul, Amir Han Muttaki, to appoint him as first secretary of The embassy in Dušanbe is a new representative of the current government. He has been resident in Tajikistan for two years, but so far he has not wanted to make any direct statements.

Contesting the decision, Agbar said that “until a legal governance structure is established, letters of this type have no legal value for us.” In two years since returning to power, the Taliban have not had any relations with the embassy; however, last March they spread the news that representatives of the Kabul government visited the diplomatic representation in the city of Khoruǧ, where the building of the Afghan consulate general, damaged in February by a landslide, is located.

The Tajikistan authorities have not given any official confirmation of the visit of the Afghan delegation, but they have not denied it either.

Responding to journalists, Ambassador Agbar explained that the Khoruǧ consulate is closed due to "lack of economic possibilities", for the maintenance of the structures and staff, who currently work in Dušanbe. In any case, the diplomat specified, "the representative of the Khoruǧ consulate has no connection with the Taliban".

Many countries in the region, starting with Iran, have granted their diplomatic representations to the disposal of the Taliban who returned to Kabul, but Tajikistan did not want to give in on this point.

In the last two years no representative of Afghanistan has been recognized in Dushanbe, and no legitimacy has been recognized to the Taliban government, protecting the representatives of the previous government.

Yet, economic and commercial relations between the two countries have not been interrupted, considering that a large part of the population of Afghanistan is ethnic Tajik. In particular, Dušanbe supplies electricity to a large part of the neighboring country.

Agbar informs that consular services have never been interrupted, also because "no country has officially recognized the Taliban, and our visas continue to be considered valid throughout the world". Journalists asked how he covers the costs of running the embassy given his lack of ties with Kabul, but the ambassador did not provide a direct answer. In fact, the building appears practically empty, with very few active staff.

Afghanistan remains outside the UN and any international convention, and Tajikistan maintains the most intransigent position among the neighboring countries, asking for an agreed and "inclusive" government of all nationalities, something that the Taliban do not seem to want to grant in fact.

In the meantime, all the ambiguities of political and economic relations are maintained, waiting to understand how much the ongoing conflicts could also influence this situation relating to the territories of Central Asia, but also of other Asian latitudes and beyond.