ISLAMABAD: Afghan ambassador to Pakistan Atif Mashal announced in a series of tweets on Wednesday that he was resigning from his post for several reasons, including to “pursue higher education.”
Mashal was appointed ambassador to Pakistan in November 2018. He has also served as the chairman of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) in the past.
“I cannot continue my diplomatic responsibilities due to certain reasons and to pursue higher education,” the Afghan envoy said on Twitter while posting a copy of his resignation letter.
جلالتمآب ولسمشر ته مې دویمه استعفاء هم وروسپارله.
د نورو لوړو زده کړو د فُرصت نه ګټه اخېستو او ځینو معاذیرو له مخې راته د کار دوام سخت شو چې لاچاره مې د تېر کال د لیندۍ میاشتې په ۲۵ نېټه خپله لومړۍ استعفاء د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت جلالتمآب جمهور رئیس ته وسپارله ۱/۳ pic.twitter.com/hM35laj0iU— Atif Mashal عاطف مشعل (@MashalAtif) July 29, 2020
In a text message to Arab News, Mashal said he had sent his second letter of resignation to President Ashraf Ghani last week and the first one seven months ago. However, his resignation has not yet been accepted.
The Afghan ambassador said he had requested the president to appoint a new ambassador by February this year but no one had been appointed yet.
“I hope that my resignation will be accepted this time,” Mashal said.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have been involved in a diplomatic row in recent months over what both sides claim is harassment of staff members at their respective high commissions in Islamabad and Kabul.
In November, the Afghan Foreign Ministry said ambassador Mashal had been "mistreated" by a Pakistani spy agency, a claim Pakistan denies.
"Afghanistan expresses its deepest objection and concern over the summoning of the ambassador by Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) and the misconduct of the entity's personnel," the ministry had said, after Pakistan complained that its diplomatic staff had been "obstructed on the road and the embassy vehicles were also hit by motorcycles" in the Afghan capital.
Last October, Afghanistan shut down its consulate in Peshawar over the removal of the Afghan national flag by Pakistani authorities from a disputer marketplace, which Kabul said belongs to Afghanistan.
Pakistan insists the country’s apex court had ruled the market belonged to a Peshawar-based Pakistani national while the Afghan embassy had said the market is the property of Afghanistan.
