Afghan pine nuts arrive, but unpaid envoy leaves

Ambassador from the war-torn country says he has not received his wages in months

The first shipment of Afghan pine nuts for this year arrived on the mainland, as the war-torn nation’s envoy to Beijing walked away from his post, leaving a note to say he and other embassy staff had not been paid for months.

China and Afghanistan restarted the “pine nut corridor” in late October, part of an agreement struck with the previous government in 2018 to allow direct air transport of the nuts to the Chinese market.

Beijing has not recognised the interim Taliban government and said it will not be first to do so, but it has expressed concerns over the huge challenges facing the nation, with around US$9 billion in Afghan assets frozen by the US.

Sabawoon Ahmadzai, who is in charge of cargo charters for Afghan private airline Kam Air, said about 45 tonnes of pine nuts were on board the cargo flight to Shanghai. “Cargo flights will continue in 2022 as Kam Air and exporters and Afghan pine nuts traders are determined to increase Afghanistan’s exports,” he told the state news agency Xinhua.

Zhu Yongbiao, director of the Centre for Afghanistan Studies at Lanzhou University, said China’s restart of the pine nut trade was a much-needed boost for the country’s foreign reserves.

The extent of Afghanistan’s financial crisis was apparent when Javid Ahmad Qaem, the previous government’s ambassador to Beijing, posted his resignation on Twitter.

Qaem revealed in the post that embassy staff had not been paid for months. “We had money in the bank for accommodation and other expenses of the diplomats. We managed day-to-day activities from that. Though, I did not pay them salaries,” he wrote. The former ambassador also said that China “is well-informed”.

The embassy in Beijing remains open although it is unclear when a new ambassador will be installed. There was no immediate comment from Taliban officials in Kabul.

Similar financial problems have been reported at some of Afghanistan’s other 41 embassies around the world. Most diplomats were appointed by the previous government and have remained in their posts.

According to one senior Afghan diplomat, some embassies began telling their envoys in October that they would no longer be able to provide salaries or pay their rents.

An Afghan diplomat based in Europe told US magazine Foreign Policy that many embassies would not be able to survive, with many expected to be closed down after running out of money.