The Afghan Embassy in London is being shut down after its diplomats were dismissed by the country's Taliban rulers, Britain's Foreign Office said on September 9.
A Foreign Office statement e-mailed to RFE/RL said the embassy "is being closed following the dismissal of its staff by the Taliban." Britain does not recognize the Taliban-led government.
But the Afghan ambassador said the decision was made "based on the requirements of the host country's authorities." Zalmai Rassoul said on X that the embassy would shut its doors on September 27 "at the official request of the host country."
Neither the U.K. government nor the ambassador said what would happen to the embassy's staff, but a source at the Afghan Embassy who spoke with RFE/RL said the British government had given embassy staff 90 days to leave the country or apply for political asylum.
The source said the British Foreign Office also said that the embassy building would not be handed over to the Taliban and that the British government would not allow any Afghan political representation or consulate to operate until a recognized government was established in Afghanistan.
The Taliban-led government had asked the embassy staff to interact with the Foreign Office, but the embassy staff refused, and as a result, the embassy's services were declared invalid by the Taliban.
The news has worried Afghans living in Britain, who fear problems without the diplomatic services.
"After this, we Afghans will face many challenges because Afghans need to renew their passports, identity cards, and other documents," Sayed Shah Kharoti and Malik, two Afghans living in London, told RFE/RL.
Diplomats who served under Afghanistan's former Western-backed government were left in limbo when the Taliban seized Kabul and returned to power in August 2021. Many embassies in Europe and beyond have continued to operate.
In another indication that this could be changing, the Afghan Embassy in Oslo announced on September 9 that it will cease its activities as of September 12 and hand over the embassy building, which is the property of Afghanistan, to the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.
SEE ALSO: Taliban Cuts Ties With 14 Afghan Diplomatic Missions AbroadThe Taliban administration announced in July that it no longer recognized diplomatic missions set up by the former Western-backed government and that documents issued by embassies in Britain and 13 other mostly European countries were invalid.
Many Taliban leaders are under sanctions, and no country officially recognizes them as Afghanistan's legitimate rulers, though some countries retain active diplomatic missions in Afghanistan, including Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, and China.
SEE ALSO: Which Countries Have Relations With The Taliban's Unrecognized Government?Afghanistan has sent Taliban-approved diplomats to some of those countries, including Pakistan and China.
Britain and other Western countries are grappling with how to provide humanitarian aid Afghans without recognizing the Taliban-led government, which has dramatically curtailed education, employment, and personal freedom for women and girls.