AT
Kabul: Ottawa has refused the Taliban’s attempt to take over Afghanistan’s embassy and consulates in Canada, as confirmed by a federal official cited by Canadian media on Monday.
Jason Kong, the spokesperson for the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Canada does not recognize the Taliban as a legitimate government.
According to Ottawa Citizen and National Post, the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it received a letter from the Taliban’s charge d’affaires at the Afghan embassy in Qatar in November 2022. In this letter, the Canadian government was asked to accept Taliban officials at Afghan political and consular representations in the country.
Jason Kong, the spokesperson for the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, “No formal response was given to this letter because Canada’s policy does not recognize the authorities of the Taliban.”
They told Ottawa Citizen that they have had no contact with the Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs in over two years.
Following the closure of the Afghan embassy in Washington, the Afghan embassy in Ottawa has also taken responsibility for handling consular affairs for Afghan Americans.