Afghanistan Times
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KABUL – German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) has unveiled plans to initiate direct negotiations with the Taliban to resume deportations of Afghan nationals convicted of serious crimes, marking a dramatic shift in Berlin’s approach. Dobrindt, in an interview with Focus magazine, called the current reliance on third-party intermediaries “unsustainable” and stressed the urgency of formalised agreements with Kabul.
Since suspending Afghan deportations after the Taliban’s 2021 takeover, Germany has only deported 28 convicted offenders in August last year—and even those via Qatar’s mediation. Now, amid rising political and public pressure following a surge in violent attacks linked to rejected asylum seekers, Dobrindt reiterated Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s hardline policy: “criminal or security‐threat individuals must be deported”—potentially excluding Afghan migrants from family reunification and humanitarian admission programs.
The proposal faces fierce criticism at home. The centre-left SPD and Greens warn that direct dealings with the Taliban risk legitimising an internationally condemned regime notorious for human rights abuses. Echoing these concerns, the UN human rights office has urged against forced returns, citing persistent human rights violations in Afghanistan, while the UN refugee agency maintains its non-return advisory in place.
Germany currently has around 11,400 Afghan nationals with deportation orders, many on temporary suspension status, with another 2,400 awaiting approval through halted humanitarian programs. The renewed urgency reflects broader European pressures: Germany remains the EU’s top asylum recipient despite a 30% drop in applications last year, with Afghans and Syrians among the largest groups
