KABUL — A senior German government envoy has held talks with Taliban authorities in Kabul to discuss the repatriation of Afghan nationals convicted of crimes in Germany, according to reports from Germany’s public broadcaster ARD.
The meeting, held last Wednesday, reportedly involved a senior representative from Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior and senior Taliban officials, including Mohammad Nabi Omari, the first deputy to Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani. Omari, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee released in a 2014 prisoner exchange, is among the Taliban’s most influential figures in the security apparatus.
Taliban Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani confirmed the meeting, describing it as “positive” and held in a “pleasant atmosphere.” He said the discussions focused primarily on how Afghans convicted of crimes in Germany could be returned in the future.
“Afghan citizens who commit crimes abroad are responsible for their actions, but they also represent the Afghan nation,” Qani told ARD’s New Delhi bureau. “Their behavior affects the reputation of Afghanistan. When they are deported, they are handed over to our Interior Ministry, registered biometrically, and treated according to Sharia law.”
According to Qani, both sides also discussed the logistics of deportations, including possible alternatives to the costly and time-consuming charter flights previously used for returning deportees. While there are no direct flights between Germany and Afghanistan, routes via Istanbul or Dubai were reportedly considered as potential alternatives.
Germany has deported more than 80 Afghan nationals convicted of crimes since resuming repatriation flights earlier this year.
The German Interior Ministry confirmed that “technical discussions” took place in Kabul but did not provide further details.
The meeting marks a rare direct engagement between the Taliban and a Western government since the group’s return to power in August 2021. While Germany, like most countries, has not formally recognized the Taliban regime, Berlin has maintained limited contact over humanitarian and consular issues.
