Taliban Administration Removes Afghan Consul in Khorog, Halts Consulate Operations
Sources in Tajikistan confirm that the Taliban administration has dismissed Naqibullah Dehghan Zadeh, the Afghan consul in Khorog, the capital of Badakhshan province, Tajikistan, and has suspended the consulate’s activities.
According to sources, this decision was implemented on Monday, December 22, 2025 (1st of Jadi in the Afghan calendar), and the Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially announced Dehghan Zadeh’s termination on December 15, 2025. Dehghan Zadeh was a diplomat from the previous Afghan government who maintained cooperation and coordination with the Taliban administration after the fall of Kabul.
Sources add that simultaneously with his dismissal, approximately $120,000 was transferred by Dehghan Zadeh to the Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, raising serious questions about financial transparency and the management of Afghanistan’s diplomatic missions under Taliban control.
Available information indicates that Dehghan Zadeh’s removal took place while he was attempting, with the backing of the Taliban administration, to be appointed as Afghanistan’s ambassador to Tajikistan instead of Zuhir Agbar—a bid that ultimately failed.
Tajikistan has so far refused to recognize the Taliban administration and has not accepted representatives appointed by the group at the Afghan embassy in Dushanbe or the consulate in Khorog, imposing significant limitations on Afghanistan’s diplomatic activities in the country.
