Taliban suspend Afghan consular services in Vienna and London for lack of transparency, coordination

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban are immediately suspending consular services at Afghan embassies in London and Vienna until further notice. Most of the country’s embassies are staffed by people from the former Western-backed administration, with around a dozen under the Taliban administration’s full control. A spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry said Sunday that the two embassies were not being transparent or coordinating their work with the ministry. The development comes days after embassies in Spain and the Netherlands said they are working directly with authorities in Kabul. No country has officially recognized the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan.