Naqibullah Dehqanzada, acting head of the Afghan consulate in Khorog of Tajikistan, stated that the consulate operates under the direct support and supervision of the Taliban's foreign ministry.
Dehqanzada issued a statement to confirm the Afghan consulate’s connection with the Taliban after the Afghan ambassador to Tajikistan tore up the appointment of a letter of a Taliban diplomat in the embassy.
On Thursday, Zia Ahmad Takal, Deputy Spokesperson for the Taliban's Foreign Ministry, published Dehqanzada's video statement and wrote on X social media platform that the Afghan consulate in Khorog is operating under the supervision of the group.
In the video, Dehqanzada responded to the recent statements made by Zahir Aghbar, the Afghan ambassador to Tajikistan.
He considered Aghbar's statements as "irresponsible and lacking in truth". He clarified that "the Afghan consulate in Khorog is directly supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban and operates according to its principles and legal powers”.
The Taliban's foreign ministry recently appointed a person named Faizullah as the first secretary in the Afghan embassy in Tajikistan.
Following his introduction, Aghbar tore up the Taliban diplomat's introduction letter in a press conference on Tuesday, November 7.
Aghbar said that until a legitimate government is formed in Afghanistan, he will protect the country's embassy in Tajikistan. He called this embassy "the trust of the Afghan people".
However, Dehqanzada claimed that after the collapse of the previous government, the scope of activities of the consulate has expanded for services such as issuing passports and issuing visas for Afghans living in Tajikistan.
He acknowledged that there is coordination with the authorities of Tajikistan in the areas of transit, trade, and border issues.
