Afghan envoy quits after caught smuggling gold
Afghan consul-general in Mumbai Zakia Wardak has resigned from her position after media reports surfaced that she was allegedly caught red-handed at Mumbai airport while smuggling in gold worth more than Rs 18 crore into Mumbai from Dubai last week. But in a purported statement issued by her on Saturday, she said she was resigning with effect from Sunday due to “numerous personal personal attacks and defamation over the past year”. According to media reports, she was caught by the directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) while smuggling in a whopping 25 kg of gold on a flight from Dubai last week on April 25. According to reports, she was not arrested at Mumbai airport due to diplomatic immunity.
Ms. Wardak was appointed by the then Afghan government of erstwhile President Ashraf Ghani that was deposed by the Taliban nearly three years ago in the war-torn nation. India has not recognised the Taliban regime in Kabul so far diplomatically but has stepped up engagement with it. New Delhi now has a “technical team” in place there at the Indian embassy in Kabul which monitors distribution of Indian humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. It mey be recalled that erstwhile Afghan ambassador to India Farid Mamundzay who was also appointed by the (former) Ghani government had quit last year and had left India.
In her purported statement on Saturday, Ms. Wardak claimed that the “personal attacks” on her had “severely impacted” her ability to “effectively operate” in her role and had “demonstrated the challenges faced by women in Afghan society”. She however thanked the Indian government for the “warm welcome and unwavering support” during her tenure.
India had last month welcomed the reported move of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan to restore property rights of Afghan Hindus and Sikhs in that country and termed it a “positive development”, if true.