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Sources told Afghanistan International last week that the Turkish government plans to hand over the consulate general of Afghanistan in Istanbul to the Taliban.

Taliban representatives have been present at the Afghan embassy in Ankara over the past few months. Recently, the group has also dismissed three diplomats of the former Afghan government in the Afghan embassy in Ankara.

During this week, it is the second Afghan diplomatic mission that the has been handed over to the Taliban.

On Sunday, the Islamic Republic of Iran officially handed over the Afghan embassy in Tehran to the representatives of the Taliban.

Diplomatic representatives of the Taliban are also present in a number of other Afghan embassies including in Pakistan, China and Russia.

Iranian officials deny the handover of the Afghan embassy, while the Taliban representatives have taken control of the affairs in Tehran.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic has also emphasised that it has not received any documents or equipment belonging to the Afghan Embassy in Tehran.

The former diplomats in the Afghan embassy in Tehran had said that they have handed over the key of the embassy premises to the ministry of foreign affairs of Iran.

Taliban diplomats officially started their work at the Afghan embassy in Tehran on Sunday.

Dozens of diplomats and employees of the Afghan embassy in Tehran stopped working in protest against the Islamic Republic's decision to hand over the embassy to the Taliban.

Taliban officials have repeatedly announced their control over the embassy since Sunday and said that their representatives have been sent from Kabul to Tehran to run the embassy affairs.

The Iranian decision over the handover of Afghan embassy to the Taliban has been met with wide ranging reactions. Among others, the National Resistance Front called it "questionable" and the National Resistance Council for Salvation of Afghanistan called it "contrary to the national interests of Afghanistan".

Also, several Afghan immigrants in Iran have protested against the Iranian government’s decision.

Even the Iranian daily, Jomhori Islami, Tehran edition, wrote on Monday that entrusting the Afghan embassy to "a terrorist group" whose rule is temporary is very dangerous.

According to the immigrants during the past three weeks, they have not received any response from the UN.

Following the Taliban's takeover of Kabul in August 2021, thousands of Afghan citizens fled to neighbouring countries to protect their lives.

Groups of these asylum seekers, temporarily staying in neighbouring countries, have sent their asylum requests to the embassies of Western countries and UN offices.

Taliban diplomats officially started their work at the Afghan embassy in Tehran on Sunday.

Meanwhile, dozens of diplomats and employees of the Afghan embassy in Tehran have stopped working in protest against the Islamic Republic's decision to hand over the embassy to the Taliban.

Also, a number of Afghan immigrants in Iran protested against the Islamic Republic's decision to accept Taliban diplomats at the Afghan embassy in Tehran.

The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) has also criticised the decision of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The United States and the United Nations have repeatedly criticised the Taliban's restrictions on women over the past few months.

US and UN officials have said that the Taliban's ban on the right to education and work of Afghan girls and women violate human rights and has harmful consequences on the country's economic situation.

According to UN estimates, two-thirds of Afghanistan's population currently needs humanitarian aid.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Afghanistan needs 4.6 billion dollars for humanitarian aid in 2023.