Afghan government hopes to see German embassy reopened soon

The government of Afghanistan is hopeful to see the German embassy here reopened soon, an Afghan official said Saturday. "Efforts are underway to allay the concerns of the German government to reopen its embassy here in Kabul," the official told Xinhua but declined to be identified. Afghan local media highlighted on Saturday the closure of the German embassy in the capital city of Kabul due to security threat. "Germany announced on Friday that it shut down its embassy in Kabul due to security reasons. The closure of the embassy would add to the security concerns of the public in Afghanistan," the newspaper Hasht-e-Subh said in its editorial. The newspaper also questioned why the German government has shut down its embassy at this stage, when the NATO-led forces combat mission ends next year. It also criticized the German government for not revealing the name of source of threat, saying India has not closed down its diplomat mission in Afghanistan despite receiving several terrorist attacks over the past years. Another newspaper the Daily Outlook reported that Germany has shut down its embassy in Afghanistan in response to a "serious security threat." Citing a German Foreign Ministry spokesman, the English paper added, "it is correct that the German embassy in Kabul is currently closed." According to the Daily Sokhan-e-Jadid, Germany has 4,000 troops serving in Afghanistan within the framework of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to help stabilize the war-ridden country. Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Musazai, when approach by Xinhua, declined to comment on the reports.