US to shut down Afghanistan's embassy, consulates, says report

Washington [US], February 18 : The US government has informed Afghanistan's diplomats in the country that it will shut down the embassy in Washington and the consulate missions in Los Angeles and New York, according to a media report on Friday.
As per a memo sent to the Afghan diplomats at the beginning of the week, Afghan diplomats will also be stripped of their diplomatic immunity, reported Pajhwok Afghan News Agency, quoting Al Arabia.
A State Department official told Al Arabiya that there had been "no change in the status of the Afghan mission or its personnel." However, a diplomatic source revealed-- "They said there would be a shutdown of the embassy [in Washington] and the consulate missions in LA and New York.", reported the news agency.
Earlier, according to media reports, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West said that the United States is not yet ready to reopen its embassy in Afghanistan, but continues to monitor the security situation in the country while maintaining diplomatic ties with the Taliban.
"At the moment, we are not prepared to reopen our embassy. I think we are evaluating the security situation carefully," Sputnik News Agency quoting West reported.
"We don't have a calendar, we were thinking of a specific time when we were considering full recognition of the Taliban. What I would say is that my bosses have told me to continue diplomacy with the Taliban in order to protect American interests," he added.
The Taliban took over Afghanistan in August last year. After the collapse of the republic government, the Taliban had announced that Suhail Shaheen would represent Afghanistan in the UN, but he was not accepted by the organization.