Germany Agrees to Accept Six More Taliban Diplomats Amid Deportation Talks
German media have reported that the German government has agreed to accept six additional diplomats from the Taliban administration; a move that, according to diplomatic sources, is part of an agreement aimed at increasing the deportation of Afghan asylum seekers from Germany. According to the report, this understanding was reached following secret talks last week in Istanbul between senior officials from Germany’s Interior Ministry and representatives of the Taliban administration.
The state broadcaster NDR, citing informed sources, stated that the German Interior Ministry has confirmed holding “technical-level” talks with Taliban representatives but declined to comment on the details of the agreement. The German Foreign Ministry also confirmed the meeting in Istanbul.
According to the report, Germany intends to increase the number of charter flights deporting Afghan asylum seekers to three per month. Additionally, the deportations via regular flights will continue. This comes despite repeated warnings from many human rights organizations regarding the forced return of asylum seekers to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
NDR added that the Taliban administration had long conditioned expanding cooperation on accepting deported migrants on increasing their diplomatic presence in Germany. According to the broadcaster, Taliban representatives are involved in verifying identities and issuing travel documents for returning individuals—an issue that effectively grants the Taliban administration a greater diplomatic standing in the European structure of Afghanistan.
Currently, two Taliban-affiliated officials are present within Afghanistan’s diplomatic missions in Germany: one at the Afghan embassy in Berlin and another at the Afghan consulate in Bonn. Previous reports indicated that these individuals have effectively taken over the management of these missions, although the German government has not officially recognized them as the legitimate heads.
If the new agreement is implemented, the presence of six additional Taliban diplomats would mark one of the most significant expansions of the Taliban’s diplomatic footprint in Europe since their takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021. Earlier, several diplomats from the former Afghan government had warned that such a process could lead to the gradual transfer of control of Afghanistan’s political missions in Europe to the Taliban administration—a development considered critical for the future of Afghanistan’s foreign relations and the rights of Afghan citizens.
