In the midst of the debate about deportations to Afghanistan, the Taliban spokesman speaks out and calls on the German authorities to settle the matter bilaterally. A sensitive issue.
The Islamist Taliban ruling in Afghanistan are open to cooperation in view of the renewed debate in Germany about the deportation of Afghan criminals and threats.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan calls on the German authorities to settle the matter within the framework of normal consular relations and an appropriate mechanism based on a bilateral agreement,” Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Kahar Balchi said on Platform X.
After the fatal knife attack in Mannheim, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that he wanted to make it possible to deport serious criminals to Afghanistan and Syria again. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is currently examining this. Since the Taliban regained power in Kabul in August 2021, there has been a deportation ban for Afghans in Germany.
Talks with the Taliban not without price
The Foreign Office warns against cooperation with the Islamist Taliban in the deportation of Afghans. “The Taliban will at least want to be paid for any repatriations through international recognition,” said a spokesman for Annalena Baerbock’s ministry in Berlin. “And it is a fact that the federal government, like every other country in the world, does not recognize the Taliban’s de facto government in Afghanistan and does not cooperate with it.” There is only sporadic contact in individual cases “on a technical level.”
A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior stressed that deportations do not mean impunity for criminals in Germany. “In murder cases, this means a minimum of ten years in prison in Germany before deportation can be considered following this prison sentence.”
However, critics warn against such talks with the Islamists, who are internationally isolated. The Taliban could benefit from deportations by using them as an opportunity to cooperate with a Western state, said Afghanistan expert Thomas Ruttig. Representatives of the Green Party also oppose deportations of Afghans and cooperation with the Taliban, or are skeptical about the plan.
So far, no country has officially recognized the Taliban government
The German government is also currently considering a detour via Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries such as Pakistan. However, the Taliban are clearly rejecting this option. Extraditions to third countries are a violation of existing conventions, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson emphasised in his statement.
So far, no country has officially recognized the Taliban government. Western states demand, among other things, that human rights and, above all, women’s rights be respected in the country in order to gain recognition. Other states, especially neighboring countries, have nevertheless advocated a more pragmatic approach to dealing with the Islamists.
Recently more deportations
The number of deportations from Germany has recently risen significantly. A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior announced that deportations in 2024 have so far been 30 percent higher than in the same period last year. Last year there was already an increase of 25 percent compared to 2022, he said on Friday in Berlin. The tightening of laws that have been passed are taking effect.
According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, there were a total of 6,316 deportations from January to April 2024, compared to 4,792 in the same period last year. A total of 16,430 deportations from Germany were carried out last year. In 2022, the figures were 12,945 deportations for the entire year.
Source: Stern
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