ISLAMABAD   -   Afghanistan’s top diplomat in India stepped down after she was accused of smuggling nearly $2 million worth of gold into the country, as per media reports. Zakia Wardak, the Afghan Consul-General in Mumbai, India, confirmed her resignation on her official X handle, saying: “It is with great regret that I announce my decision to step away from my role at the Consulate and Embassy of Afghanistan in India, effective May 5, 2024.”  The Afghan embassy in New Delhi shut down in November, more than two years after the Taliban returned to power in Kabul following the collapse of the Western-backed government, leaving Wardak as the country’s most senior representative in India. As per media reports, Zakia Wardak was last month stopped by financial intelligence authorities at Mumbai airport on arrival from Dubai — along with her son — carrying 25 kilogrammes of gold. She was not arrested because of her diplomatic immunity, the reports said, but the gold — worth around $1.9 million — was confiscated. Wardak’s resignation leaves thousands of Afghan nationals, including students and businessmen, without any consular representation in India. Wardak said in the statement that she had “encountered numerous personal attacks and defamation” over the past year. Such incidents “have demonstrated the challenges faced by women in Afghan society,” she added, making no explicit reference to the gold allegations.