Afghan envoy to China leaves after months without pay

On Jan 12, 2022

Afghanistan’s ambassador to China, Javid Ahmad Qaem, left his post after months without pay from Kabul following the Taliban’s seizure of power.

Qaem said in a handover letter, “Many embassy diplomats had already left and Kabul had not sent them a salary since August.

“There are many reasons, personal and professional, but I don’t want to mention them here,” he said.

China shares a short border with Afghanistan and Beijing has sent humanitarian supplies in the country since the brutal return of the Taliban in August.

In his letter, Qaem said that a new person had been assigned to the embassy, naming him only as Mr. Sadaat. The Afghan foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on who would be Qaem’s successor.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin said in a daily briefing Tuesday that Qaem had left China, without specifying when or where he had been.

International governments, including China, have failed to recognize the Taliban government as legitimate. Severe sanctions crippled the country’s public finances.

The Taliban’s abrupt return to power has left hundreds of Afghan diplomats abroad in limbo, fearing for families back home and desperate to seek refuge abroad.

Kamila/Reuters