Senior officials from the German Interior Ministry will visit Kabul in October to discuss with Islamic Emirate officials the systematic deportation of criminal Afghan refugees.

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Kabul: Senior officials from the German Interior Ministry will visit Kabul in October to discuss with Islamic Emirate officials the systematic deportation of criminal Afghan refugees. The aim of the visit is to systematically deport “criminals” using commercial flights, not just charter flights. The visit comes at a time when Germany has no diplomatic relations with the Taliban since their return to power in August 2021. Germany closed its embassy in Kabul after the fall of the previous Afghan government.

A spokesman for the German Interior Ministry confirmed the visit of a high-level delegation from the ministry to Kabul, but it is not yet clear who will be part of the delegation. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt is determined to return Afghan migrants who have committed crimes to Afghanistan. Earlier, Germany, with the mediation of Qatar, deported dozens of Afghan refugees to Kabul. In return, Germany received two Taliban representatives in Berlin.

It is not yet clear what concessions the Taliban expect or will receive from the German government in exchange for a possible agreement to deport Afghan refugees. The German Interior Minister’s attempt to negotiate with the Taliban to deport Afghan refugees has been widely criticized by the country’s opposition parties. The Green Party is extremely angry about the German government’s talks with the Taliban. Earlier, Marcel Emmerich, the party’s domestic policy spokesman, had strongly criticized the talks.

He had said that Germany’s ruling parties were “flattering” for a terrorist group. According to Emmerich, the Interior Minister had single-handedly broken a diplomatic taboo. “He has entered into relations with a regime that tortures, stons, oppresses women and violates human rights,” he said.

However, the German Interior Minister revealed that the previous government had also held talks with the Taliban on the deportation of refugees.

This visit could be the first direct point of contact between Berlin and the Taliban in four years, and its political, legal and security implications within Germany and at the regional level will be the focus of attention for observers.

In continuation of this process, the German government has announced that after this visit, it will hold further talks with the authorities of the Islamic Emirate on the deportation of Afghan refugees. These talks will include examining the living conditions of refugees in Afghanistan and ensuring their human rights. Germany also intends to launch programs for the reconstruction and development of affected areas in Afghanistan, in cooperation with international organizations, to improve the living conditions of returning refugees.