“Taliban” appoints new ambassador to Uzbekistan again

The Taliban's interim government has once again appointed a new ambassador to its embassy in Uzbekistan. Abdul Gafar Bahr has been named the new head of the Afghan embassy in Tashkent, according to Hafiz Zia Ahmed, the Deputy Spokesman of the Taliban's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While the ministry released a photograph of the new ambassador, no details about Abdul Gafar Bahr's background or previous activities were provided.

Bahr reportedly participated in a farewell meeting between Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister of the Taliban government, and Yodgorhoja Shodmanov, Uzbekistan's ambassador to Afghanistan. Shodmanov, who has completed his 12-year mission in Kabul, formally announced the end of his tenure during this meeting.

Earlier this year, Uzbekistan handed over the Afghan embassy to Taliban diplomats, with Mugfurullah Shahab initially taking the position of ambassador, replacing Ahmad Khalid Ilmi, who served under the previous Afghan government. Abdul Ghafar Bahr was subsequently appointed in April. In August, Zakir Jalali, a senior official in the Taliban's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, introduced Abdulgafar Tirawi as the official ambassador of Afghanistan to Uzbekistan.

Despite these appointments, the official recognition of a Taliban ambassador by Uzbekistan remains unclear. While Behzod Hidoyatov, the press secretary of the Uzbek Prime Minister, confirmed that Uzbekistan became the third country, after the UAE and Kazakhstan, to recognize the Taliban ambassador, a source in the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that no final decision has yet been made on official recognition.