Taliban install new diplomat without telling Germany: Report

A Taliban member has been appointed the head of the Afghan embassy in Berlin without the German government's knowledge, public broadcaster ARD reported on Saturday.

The unilateral move appears to highlight the Islamist group's efforts to assert control over Afghanistan's diplomatic missions abroad, despite lacking official recognition from almost all of the world's nations, including Germany.

Under the 1961 Geneva Convention on Diplomatic Relations, before an ambassador or head of mission takes up a role, the receiving country is required to approve the appointment.

What do we know?

A man, named by ARD as Nebrasul H,, is one of two low-level Afghan consular officials to arrive in Berlin last July to help prepare deportations of failed asylum seekers to Afghanistan.

The German government had approved his appointment in that role, ARD said.

However, the broadcaster alleges that Nebarsul H. was also secretly recruited to lead the Afghan embassy in Berlin.

The broadcaster said it had obtained confidential documents showing that Nebrasaul H. acts and signs as  charge d'affaires — a diplomat who heads an embassy or diplomatic mission in place of a full ambassador.

ARD said the documents show that he is named as charge d'affaires within the Berlin embassy and during contact with Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry in Kabul.

The public broadcaster said he acts as a kind of Taliban "ambassador," noting that Germany is now the only EU member state where the Islamist group is effectively running an embassy.

Berlin not informed

The broadcaster said the German government was unaware of his more senior role, citing a German Foreign Ministry spokesperson as saying there had been "no notification of any personnel changes at the Afghan diplomatic missions in Germany."

Germany does not recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

Government officials have repeatedly said that Berlin wants to ensure that Afghan missions are led by governments that preceded the Taliban, which seized control in August 2021 as US and NATO forces withdrew.

Ghani's appointee secretly demoted

ARD also described how the man previously in the role, Abdul P., is now merely a figurehead, who was stripped of his powers and demoted in January.

Diplomatic sources told the broadcaster that he was not considered trustworthy enough as he was appointed by Afghanistan's pre-Taliban government of US-backed President Ashraf Ghani.

ARD said the announcement of a new diplomat was meant to be kept secret from Germany's government until March, citing a letter from the Afghan Foreign Ministry.

The Ministry had originally intended to recall Abdul P. to Afghanistan, but he convinced them that he was still needed due to his experience.

Abdul P. has even been allowed to continue living in the ambassador's residence in Berlin's upscale Zehlendorf district and drives a car with diplomatic license plates, the report said. 

Second diplomat appointed by Kabul

The other junior official to accompany Nebrasul H. last year has effectively assumed the role of Afghan Consulate General in Bonn, western Germany, the broadcaster alleged, despite not being recognized as such by Berlin.

Some countries maintain diplomatic branch offices in Bonn, as it was the capital of former West Germany and several federal ministries and agencies remain headquartered there.

Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah