Some diplomats on foreign mission beyond legal period

Some Afghan diplomats continued to serve in some of Afghanistan’s foreign missions beyond the legal period of three years in violation of the relevant law, Pajhwok Afghan News reliably learned on Wednesday.

Article six of the Diplomatic and Counselor Services Law says that diplomats and counselors shall serve on a foreign mission not beyond three years and upon completion of their service, they shall return to the nation’s capital and should stay in the capital for the required period.

Article three of the law says that diplomats are Ambassador, Political Attachés, Counselor attachés, counselors, first, second and third secretaries.

Pajhwok, however, learned that article six has been violated by eight diplomats.

The Madanyat Newspaper reported that Syed Tayyib Jawad was appointed as Afghanistan’s ambassador to the United Kingdom back in 2016 and last year in September he was appointed as Afghanistan’s ambassador to Russian Federation, with his working period as ambassador exceeding four years.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) also acknowledged Jawad’s appointment as Afghanistan’s ambassador to Russia last year.

According to Khamma Press, RoyaRahmani was appointed as Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Indonesia back in 2016, while Hasht-e-Sub Newspaper in November, 2018 reported that Rahmani was appointed Afghanistan Ambassador to the United States, thus Rahmani’s service period as ambassador reached four years and eight months.

According to Shafaqna website, ZahirAghbar was appointed as Afghanistan’s Counsel General to Munich City of Germany in 2017, while Tolo news reported in December 2019 that Aghbar was appointed as Afghanistan’s ambassador to Germany.

According to Afghan Ghag News Agency, Mohammad HumayonAzizi was appointed Afghanistan’s ambassador to the Netherlands in October 2017. According to information from Afghanistan’s embassy in Paris, Azizi was appointed as ambassador in Paris in October 2020.

Being ambassador in both countries, Azizi’s service period also exceeds the legal three years.

NazeefullahNazeef on his Facebook page wrote that he was appointed as Afghanistan’s permanent representative in New York in 2015 and in 2018 he was appointed as Afghanistan’s ambassador to Belgium.

This takes Nazeef’s service period to nearly five years as diplomat.

A well-placed source in MoFA said that Mohammad WalliNaeemi was appointed as Afghanistan’s ambassador to the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) in 2018 when he had already served as Afghanistan’s diplomat in Belgium. But according to sources in Afghanistan’s Saudi Arabia Embassy, Naeemi was appointed as assistant (Charge d’Affaires) diplomat to Adela Raaz, Afghanistan’s permanent ambassador in the United Nations.

Naeemi’s service period in foreign missions also exceeded four years.

According to Radio Neshat, WaheedullahWaisi has been Afghanistan’s ambassador to Australia since 2018 and four months earlier his service period was extended by one year.

However, there are also people who served as envoys for three years and after a break, they are reappointed on the same positions to other countries.

According to Etilaat-i-Roz, Shaida Mohammad Abdali had served as Afghanistan envoy to India for six years in a row until September 2018.

He resigned in order to run for presidency, but a report in Tolo News shows that after his two years and five months break, he was again appointed as Afghan envoy to Japan on January 26.

According to the foreign ministry official, Manizha Bakhtari, was appointed as Afghan ambassador to Norway in 2010 but she resigned in March 2016.

After four years, Bakhtari was again appointed as envoy to Austria in September 2020, the source said.

According to the Afghan embassy in India, Tahir Qaderi was appointed as Afghan diplomat in India in September 2020. He had started serving as Charge de Affairs of Afghanistan in India on Jun 18, 2019.

However, he was appointed as ambassador to Poland on January 25. Qaderi served in India for two years and six months but it is unclear whether he would continue his job in Poland after six months.

Prof. Wadir Safi, a political affairs expert, told Pajhwok that no diplomat could spend more than three years in a foreign country based on the law and they could neither be introduced to another location.

“It is a great treason committed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they violated the rights of those who should be appointed to another place after a mission… the president is also responsible in this regard, because no one can be appointed as a diplomat without his approval,” he said.

“These types of appointments are made by those who are in power, they do not follow accountability and they want to appoint their own people,” he added.

When asked why a number of diplomats and consulate officials held their posts beyond the time determined in the relevant law, he said without giving details: “Under Article 64, clause 14 of the Constitution, the introduction of political representatives abroad is the authority of the president and it has been done in accordance with the law.”

Article 64, clause14 of the constitution states that the president has the power to appoint heads of Afghanistan’s political missions in foreign countries and international organizations.