In a leaked document from the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shinkai Karokhail, Afghanistan's current ambassador to Canada has asked her government to "take retaliatory actions" against Canada's embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.
The classified document bearing the official letterhead of the Afghan embassy in Ottawa and the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs receipt confirmation seal, first circulated through social media early morning Tuesday July 25 and was eventually picked up by mainstream Afghan news networks later that day.
In it, the Afghan envoy complains to her superiors that despite all her efforts, Canada's Minister of Global Affairs or her deputies will not meet with her. She concludes by stating: "that in light of this situation, we therefore recommend you to take appropriate actions towards Canada's mission in Afghanistan"
Though the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan has not yet formally commented on this subject, Sayed Ali Kazimi, member of Afghanistan's parliamentary commission for international affairs, stated that Karokhail like Afghanistan's many other foreign representatives is not qualified for the ambassadorial position.
This should come as no surprise since, in early May 2017, the Afghan minister of defense Abdullah Habibi and Army Chief of Staff Qadam Shah Shahim, both resigned over a growing outcry because of their role in the terror attacks on the country's 209th Shaheen Army corps mosque in the province of Mazar-e-Sharif where more than 300 men have lost their lives. Both men were conveniently and swiftly relocated to ambassadorial roles in Jordan and Kazakhstan, effectively avoiding any formal judicial inquiry or accountability.
In July 2016, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzay, through a presidential decree, appointed his 76-year- old uncle Abdul Qayum Kochi as Afghanistan's ambassador to Russia. The post was previously occupied by Azizullah Karzai, uncle of one Hamid Karzai.
In the words of Kamal Nabizada, an Afghan businessman who once served as chargé d'affaies in Moscow: "Basically, the Moscow embassy has been at the service of the relatives of whoever has led the country."
Ironically Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzay's 2014 presidential campaign had based itself on cleaning house and riding the war thorn country of corruption. At one public forum he said that if any of his relatives were seen in the highest circles of power, "you can chop off my hand."
This past June, in her lengthy address to the House of Commons, Minister Freeland announced Canada's new foreign policies and role on the international stage. And just weeks ago, on June 29, the prime minister announced that: "There are absolutely no plans to send any troops back to Afghanistan."
There are many questions that we as Canadians ought to ask ourselves.
Is the Trudeau government trying to signal that Canada will no longer standby idle in the face of Afghanistan's mounting corruption?
Exactly how Canada does vet individuals designated by foreign states to be a special envoy or ambassador? And to what degree such a vetting process is applied?
And lastly, how will Canada respond to this hostile gesture.
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