New Delhi: India has said that the Afghan embassy in New Delhi continues to function, and that India is in touch with diplomats at the mission as well as in consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad. This comes after the ambassador to India and other staff, who had been appointed by the previous regime in Afghanistan before the coup, said they were formally closing the embassy as of October 1.The consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad, which have established contact with the Taliban administration in Afghanistan, had always maintained that they would remain operational.“Our understanding is that the Afghan embassy in New Delhi is functioning or continuing to function. We are in touch with the Afghan diplomats who are there in that embassy as well as with the Afghan diplomats who are at the consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.“However, we received communication last week purportedly from the embassy, indicating that it intends to suspend operations at the end of September,” he said.“Of course, such a decision is an internal matter of a foreign mission. However, we have noted that the Afghan consulates general in Mumbai and in Hyderabad voiced their objection to that decision or to such a decision,” Bagchi said.“We are also aware that there has been a prolonged absence of the ambassador and that a large number of Afghan diplomats have left India in the recent past,” Bagchi said.“We would hope that a substantial number of Afghan nationals in India, including students, are able to continue to receive necessary consular support. On our part, we will continue with our efforts to assist the people of Afghanistan,” he added.