The Taliban are closing the Afghan embassy in the United States

An official from the Afghan embassy in Washington said the embassy and consulate in New York and Los Angeles would be closed from Wednesday. The reason may be the lack of resources, but the ambassador did not elaborate on that.

Diplomats who previously served in the United States were appointed by the pro-US government in Kabul, which was overthrown by the radical Islamist Taliban last year. They have not been paid for months. The Afghan diplomat said efforts were being made to continue operations until the last minute.

The report said that if the embassy was closed, Afghan embassy officials would have 30 days to apply for a longer stay before being deported. New York Times According to sources in the Ministry of External Affairs, Friday. But they will not be deported to Afghanistan, although it is not clear where else they will go. About a quarter of the 100 Afghan ambassadors to the United States have not yet applied to stay in the United States.