Afghanistan’s Washington Embassy Shutting Down Due to Lack of Funds

Afghanistan’s embassy to the United States in Washington, DC is shutting down this week. The Afghan diplomats staffing the embassy were appointed by the former Afghan government and are cut off from the new Taliban government, which has not provided any funds to keep the office open, The New York Times reported, citing unnamed State Department officials. This lack of funds is, in part, because the embassy’s bank accounts have been frozen to avoid violating American sanctions against the Taliban, which seized power when the US withdrew its troops in late August 2021. About 100 Afghan diplomats work at its embassies in Washington, Los Angeles, and New York. Many of the Afghan diplomats in the US are applying for residency or asking to be allowed to remain in the US for the time being on humanitarian grounds in order to avoid deportation since they are at risk of being imprisoned or killed by the Taliban should they return to their mother country. About one-quarter of them have not yet requested to remain, according to the report. The government of the Taliban is not recognized by the US or most of the international community.