Afghan consulate in Peshawar reopens after 3 months

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): The Afghan consulate in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar has reopened after almost three months of closure.  

The diplomatic mission was shut down in October as a result of a dispute over the ownership of a marketplace in Peshawar, the capital of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The closure came after Peshawar police removed the Afghan national flag from the market, whose ownership is claimed by the Afghan government.

The consulate was shut down in protest on October 11 when district administration along with police removed Afghanistan’s national flag from a disputed property in the city.

The district administration also evicted 180 Afghan shopkeepers from the market in response to a petition from Syed Intekhab Haider Abidi, the market owner, seeking implementation of an earlier judgment in his favour.

The administration later handed over possession of the shops to Abidi. The property had been in possession of the Afghan government for the last several decades.

The Afghan government is believed to have reopened the consulate following assurance from Islamabad that the dispute would be resolved through negotiations.

Faridoon Haiderkhel, first secretary at the Afghan Consulate, confirmed the diplomatic mission had resumed visa operations from Friday.

Applicants, who faced multiple problems during the last three months, could approach the diplomatic mission for visas, he wrote on his Facebook page.

Also on Friday, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Zahid Nasrullah Khan and Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Naheed Esaar inaugurated Allama Iqbal Scholarship Programme for Afghan students.

This year, about 1,000 Afghan students will be selected under the fully-funded programme by the Higher Education said.

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