Fri 29 October 2021:
Officials reported Friday that a Taliban envoy has been dispatched to Pakistan to take charge of the Afghan embassy, two months after the hardline Islamist group seized power.
In Islamabad, Sardar Ahmad Khan Shokaib has been appointed first secretary, while Taliban officials have been assigned to consulates in Peshawar, Karachi, and Quetta.
Shokaib cannot assume the position of ambassador because the new Taliban leadership have yet to be publicly recognized by any foreign government, including Pakistan’s.
“These diplomats will take care of the affairs in the embassy and in the three consulates,” Taliban said.
“They will formally take charge on Monday,” a source close to the Peshawar consulate added.
“I understand they have made similar appointments in their embassies in some other countries,” the spokesman added.
Pakistan has long faced US accusations of playing a double game in Afghanistan and has historically had close ties to the Taliban leadership.
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government has called on the world to engage with the Taliban and provide economic support to the aid-dependent country which has seen funding frozen by Western donors since the takeover.
FILE PHOTO: Mullah Bardar meeting with Foreign Minister of Pakistan Shah Mahmud Quraishi.
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