The resignation letter of the Afghan ambassador to China has attracted attention, and it has not been paid for half a year, and the Afghan embassy abroad is in trouble

Afghan Ambassador to China Javid Qayim announced his resignation through his social media account on the 10th and published a handover letter called "colorful" by foreign media, which triggered a heated discussion in international public opinion. He revealed in the letter that since the Taliban took over the Afghan government, the Afghan government has not paid salaries to the embassy's employees for 6 months, most of the embassy's employees have resigned and left China, and only one Chinese employee is left to answer the phone. Qayim was appointed ambassador to China by the Afghan government in 2019, and his resignation represents an awkward situation for Afghan embassies in many countries after the Taliban came to power. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in response to relevant questions on the 11th: "A few days ago, Ambassador Qayim has left China for personal reasons. The Chinese side has taken note of Ambassador Qayim's relevant remarks, expressed appreciation for the efforts made during his work in China to promote China-Arab relations, and hoped that he would continue to play an active role in the future. China will, as always, promote the development of Friendly Relations between China and Argentina. According to Bloomberg reported on the 11th, the diplomatic department of the Afghan Taliban government said that it will issue a statement on this matter, and a first secretary of the country's Foreign Ministry will become a representative in China.

Javid Kayim Infographic

Qayim posted on his personal Twitter account on the 10th: "The end of a glorious responsibility: I resigned from the job of ambassador [in China]. It is an honour to represent the Government of Afghanistan and our people. There are many reasons for [resigning], personally, professionally, and I don't want to go into detail here. I have handed over everything smoothly through the handover letter. Below the text is a picture of him and a screenshot of the handover letter.

"Colorful handover letters," AFP reported on the 11th. In his letter, Qaim said he himself left office on January 2, 2022. The letter revealed that the Afghan mission in China is divided into political, economic, cultural, educational, trade, military and administrative departments, each department has a separate office, and the relevant documents have been placed in each office. "Since August 15 last year, diplomats appointed by the Republic (referring to the former Afghan government) in China have not received salaries, so most of them have left China. I am confident that when Mr. Sadat, the representative to China appointed by the new Government, arrived in Beijing, there were no diplomats in the embassy. ”

In his letter, Qaim said that because the embassy had not received salaries from Kabul for the past 6 months, they had set up a committee to resolve the issue of funding and had to withdraw funds from a bank account to pay for the fees. "Although I did not pay the diplomats, I paid a sum of money to help them pay for their expenses in Beijing." "As of Jan. 1, the embassy's bank account still has $100,000 and another account has some money" "The embassy's 5 cars are parked in front of the main building, the keys are in my office, and two other old cars need to be scrapped," "All local employees' salaries as of January 20, 2022, have been settled and their work is over," "I've left only one local employee at the front desk to answer the phone," the letter said. "Except for the operator's office, I will close and lock all the room doors of the embassy, and I will leave the keys at the Qatar Embassy in Beijing." The letter concluded by stating that he had informed the Chinese Foreign Ministry of the relevant situation. He did not reveal his next steps.

According to Agence France-Presse reported on the 10th, Qaim went to China to take office in November 2019. In July 2021, he expressed concern about the Taliban's rise to power in an interview with the media. A few weeks later, the Taliban occupied Kabul and formed a new government. Deutsche Welle said the Afghan Taliban government has not been recognized by the international community, and the chaos at the country's embassy in Beijing is not a single case. Last week, the Afghan Embassy in Italy called the police for help after a fired diplomat attacked the ambassador, who said he had been assigned to take over the post. The Taliban-formed foreign ministry said the embassy officer still had a valid contract and his dismissal was illegal. At the United Nations, the delegations of the former Afghan Government and the Taliban have all demanded Afghan seats. Late last year, the U.N. Security Council postponed its decision on the matter indefinitely. India's "Republic World" news network said on the 11th, "It is worth noting that most of Afghanistan's diplomatic institutions are on the verge of closure, because they have almost cut off the source of funds." ”

According to the Global Times reporter, the new chargé d'affaires a.i. of the Afghan Taliban government embassy in Pakistan has arrived, but the new representatives in most countries have not yet been handed over. India's "Tribune" said on the 11th that after the Taliban controlled Afghanistan for nearly 5 months, its government has still not been internationally recognized. More than 45 Afghan embassies and 20 consulates around the world have resolutely refused to obey the Taliban despite being stripped of funds and pushed to the brink of closure. The report quoted Faried Mamounzai, Afghanistan's ambassador to India, as saying: "We are not responsible to the Taliban. Our job is to continue to help students and other Afghan nationals battered by upheaval. We hope that sooner or later an inclusive Government representing the Afghan people will be formed. ”

"The lack of international recognition plagues the Taliban," Singapore's Straits Times said, although Afghan Taliban Acting Foreign Minister Mutaki has repeatedly said that Afghanistan still retains all missions abroad, but at present, no major country in the world recognizes the Afghan Taliban government, and even the Pakistani government that has always supported Ata has not declared recognition. Tens of billions of dollars in assets of the Afghan government have been seized by the U.S. government, and more than 90 percent of the country's population lives below the poverty line. ▲

Cheng Shijie, the special correspondent of this newspaper in Pakistan, wrote Yu Wen