DUBAI: Afghanistan’s Embassy in Oman has reopened, an official in Kabul said Tuesday, the latest sign of the growing inclusion of the Taliban among Gulf Arab countries following the United Arab Emirates’ acceptance of a Taliban ambassador last month.
The development also comes after the Taliban said in July that they no longer recognize diplomatic missions set up by the former, Western-backed government. Most countries still have not accepted the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate government.
According to Zia Ahmad Takal, deputy spokesman of the Foreign Ministry in Kabul, the embassy in Muscat, Oman’s capital, resumed operations on Sunday.
There was no immediate confirmation from Omani authorities and no reports from the sultanate’s state-run news agency about the embassy’s reopening.
“The work of the embassy is carried out regularly by diplomats of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” said Takal, using the Taliban name for their government.
“The resumption of embassy activities in cooperation with the host country will play a constructive role in strengthening the political, economic, social and religious relations between Kabul and Muscat,” Takal added.
The Foreign Ministry said that 39 diplomatic missions are now under Taliban control.
There is a deepening divide in the international community on how to deal with the Taliban, who have been in power for three years and face no internal or external opposition. And even though the Taliban and the West remain at loggerheads, Afghanistan’s rulers have pursued bilateral ties with major regional powers.
Last month, Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov arrived in Afghanistan in the highest-level visit by a foreign official since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
As part of expanding their reach, the Taliban have moved to take control of the country’s embassies and consulates overseas.
The embassies in London and Oslo announced their closures this month, while others in Europe and beyond have continued to operate.
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Afghanistan reopens its embassy in Oman, the Taliban say
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Afghanistan reopens its embassy in Oman, the Taliban say
- This is latest sign of growing inclusion of Taliban among Gulf countries
- Last month the United Arab Emirates accepted a Taliban ambassador
Outrage after Trump claims NATO troops avoided Afghan frontline
- Donald Trump appeared unaware that 457 British soldiers died fighting in Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks on the US
LONDON: A UK minister said Friday that US President Donald Trump was “plainly wrong” to claim that NATO soldiers did not fight on the front line in Afghanistan, as the claim sparked outrage in Britain.
In an interview with Fox News aired on Thursday, Trump appeared unaware that 457 British soldiers died fighting in the South Asian country following the September 11 attacks on the United States.
“They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan,” Trump told the US outlet.
“And they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines,” he added.
Trump also repeated his suggestion that NATO would not come to the aid of the United States if asked to do so.
In fact, following the 9/11 attacks, the UK and a number of other allies joined the US from 2001 in Afghanistan after it invoked NATO’s collective security clause.
As well as Britain’s, troops from other NATO ally countries including Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Denmark and others also died.
Care Minister Stephen Kinnock said he expected Prime Minister Keir Starmer would bring the issue up with Trump.
“I think he will, I’m sure, be raising this issue with the president... He’s incredibly proud of our armed forces, and he will make that clear to the president,” he told LBC Radio.
Trump’s comments were “plainly wrong” and “deeply disappointing,” Kinnock told broadcaster Sky News.
“It just doesn’t really add up what he said, because the fact of the matter is the only time that article 5 has been invoked was to go to the aid of the United States after 9/11,” he said.
“And many, many British soldiers and many soldiers from other European NATO allies gave their lives in support of American missions, American-led missions in places like Afghanistan and Iraq,” he added.
Lucy Aldridge, whose son William died aged 18 in Afghanistan, told The Mirror newspaper that Trump’s remarks were “extremely upsetting.”
Emily Thornberry, chair of parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, called them “so much more than a mistake.”
“It’s an absolute insult. It’s an insult to 457 families who lost someone in Afghanistan. How dare he say we weren’t on the front line,” the Labour Party politician said on the BBC’s Question Time program on Thursday evening.
According to official UK figures, 405 of the 457 British casualties who died in Afghanistan were killed in hostile military action.
The US reportedly lost more than 2,400 soldiers.
In an interview with Fox News aired on Thursday, Trump appeared unaware that 457 British soldiers died fighting in the South Asian country following the September 11 attacks on the United States.
“They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan,” Trump told the US outlet.
“And they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines,” he added.
Trump also repeated his suggestion that NATO would not come to the aid of the United States if asked to do so.
In fact, following the 9/11 attacks, the UK and a number of other allies joined the US from 2001 in Afghanistan after it invoked NATO’s collective security clause.
As well as Britain’s, troops from other NATO ally countries including Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Denmark and others also died.
Care Minister Stephen Kinnock said he expected Prime Minister Keir Starmer would bring the issue up with Trump.
“I think he will, I’m sure, be raising this issue with the president... He’s incredibly proud of our armed forces, and he will make that clear to the president,” he told LBC Radio.
Trump’s comments were “plainly wrong” and “deeply disappointing,” Kinnock told broadcaster Sky News.
“It just doesn’t really add up what he said, because the fact of the matter is the only time that article 5 has been invoked was to go to the aid of the United States after 9/11,” he said.
“And many, many British soldiers and many soldiers from other European NATO allies gave their lives in support of American missions, American-led missions in places like Afghanistan and Iraq,” he added.
Lucy Aldridge, whose son William died aged 18 in Afghanistan, told The Mirror newspaper that Trump’s remarks were “extremely upsetting.”
Emily Thornberry, chair of parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, called them “so much more than a mistake.”
“It’s an absolute insult. It’s an insult to 457 families who lost someone in Afghanistan. How dare he say we weren’t on the front line,” the Labour Party politician said on the BBC’s Question Time program on Thursday evening.
According to official UK figures, 405 of the 457 British casualties who died in Afghanistan were killed in hostile military action.
The US reportedly lost more than 2,400 soldiers.
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