Afghan diplomats stranded abroad by Taliban takeover fear for families, future

Name: Afghans describe life under Taliban rule one month on
Uploaded: 2021-09-16T10:49:17.000Z
Duration: 3 min 31 s
Description: Afghans describe life under Taliban rule one month on

Embassies staffed by employees of an ousted government are running out of cash, as envoys beg for refuge and fear for their families back home

Senior diplomats will closely watch an annual meeting of world leaders at the UN next week for clues as to who will fill Afghanistan’s seat

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Taliban forces stand guard during a pro-Taliban rally in Kabul earlier this month. Photo: EPA

Reuters

Published: 6:49pm, 16 Sep 2021Updated: 11:43pm, 16 Sep 2021

The Taliban’s abrupt return to power has left hundreds of Afghan diplomats overseas in limbo: running out of money to keep missions operating, fearful for families back home and desperate to secure refuge abroad.

The Islamist militant movement, which swiftly ousted Afghanistan’s Western-backed government on August 15, said on Tuesday that it had sent messages to all of its embassies telling diplomats to continue their work.

But eight embassy staff, who spoke on condition of anonymity, in countries including Canada, Germany and Japan, described dysfunction and despair at their missions.

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Afghans describe life under Taliban rule one month on

“My colleagues here and in many countries are pleading with host nations to accept them,” said an Afghan diplomat in Berlin, who feared what might happen to his wife and four daughters who remain in Kabul if he allowed his name to be used.

“I am literally begging. Diplomats are willing to become refugees,” he said, adding he would have to sell everything, including a large house in Kabul, and “start all over again”.

Afghanistan’s missions overseas face a period of “prolonged limbo” as countries decide whether to recognise the Taliban, said Afzal Ashraf, an international relations expert and visiting fellow at Britain’s University of Nottingham.