Afghan pavilion at Dubai stays shut after Taliban takeover

Agencies | Dubai

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Afghanistan’s pavilion at the Dubai world expo remain unfinished and closed to visitors even after the fair opened in Dubai yesterday.

Afghanistan is one of nearly 200 nations participating in the six-month fair that was awarded to Dubai eight years ago and faced a year-long delay to the start due to the pandemic.

But the country’s pavilion, which was organised by the previous Afghan government before it was driven from power by the Taliban last month, remained unfinished and closed to visitors yesterday. A security guard at the building where the pavilion is located said they had not seen any one work there in weeks.

It was not immediately clear whether the pavilion, listed on signage around the 4.3 sq km (1.7 sq mile) purpose-built site, would open at a later date during the expo fair. Expo officials have previously stressed that the event is apolitical.

During the Expo opening ceremony on Thursday, the tri-colour flag of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was displayed among flags of other participating nations.

The Taliban refer to their country as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and use a different flag. The UAE, a close ally of the United States, is hosting Afghanistan’s former president Ashraf Ghani.

The Gulf state was also one of only three countries to recognise the Taliban government when they last ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. Despite its closure, crowds still gathered outside the pavilion on Friday - but in order to enter an outlet of the popular Saudi fast food chain Al Baik housed in the same building.