Dobrindt: Deportation Agreement with Afghanistan’s Taliban “Very Near”

A deportation agreement between the German government and the Islamist Taliban ruling Afghanistan appears to be nearing completion. “Talks are at a very advanced stage, so we can assume that we will very soon have an agreement in place that will allow us to regularly repatriate people to Afghanistan on scheduled flights,” Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) told the website “The Pioneer” according to a statement on Saturday.

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He once again defended the negotiations with the internationally unrecognized Taliban government against criticism. Employees of the Federal Ministry of the Interior held “technical talks with officials there last weekend on how we can organize this,” Dobrindt continued. “We want to repatriate people regularly, and that means not only on charter flights, but also on scheduled flights,” the minister emphasized.

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“We want to repatriate people regularly, and that means not only on charter flights, but also on scheduled flights,” the minister emphasized. Responding to criticism of his approach from human rights organizations, among others, Dobrindt said that, in his view, it was an interesting perception “if you think it is morally okay for Qatar to act as an intermediary when organizing repatriations to Afghanistan, but find it completely morally reprehensible when you have to take on this task yourself.” He did not see it that way.

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He himself was also prepared to travel to Kabul “if it is necessary for us to reach agreements to repatriate serious criminals from Germany to Afghanistan,” Dobrindt said. He would “do everything to make this work with Afghanistan, and I will try to do the same with Syria,” the minister announced.

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Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, there have been two deportation flights from Germany to the country, one in 2024 during the traffic light coalition government and a second in July. In both cases, Qatar was involved as a mediator. The Taliban regained power in Afghanistan in August 2021. They proclaimed an Islamist emirate and have since enforced a strict interpretation of Islam with draconian laws. Women's rights in particular have been severely restricted.