KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Belgium has issued one-day, restricted visas to a Taliban delegation to travel to Brussels for talks with European Union officials on migration and deportation, Reuters reported, marking the bloc’s first direct engagement with the group since it returned to power in 2021.
The visas were granted despite sharp criticism from rights groups, U.N. experts, and some European lawmakers, who warned that the move could risk legitimizing the Taliban regime at a time when it remains internationally isolated over its human rights record.
Reuters reported that five Taliban officials were granted visas with strict limitations on their duration and geographic validity. The delegation is expected to attend discussions organised by the European Commission focused on the deportation of Afghans whose asylum applications have been rejected or who have been convicted of crimes in EU member states.
A spokesperson for Belgium’s foreign ministry confirmed the issuance of the visas but declined to provide the exact timing of the visit, citing security concerns, according to Reuters.
The Taliban have not publicly commented on the trip. local media reported that the delegation, led by Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi, was expected to travel from Turkey to Belgium on Tuesday.
The European Commission extended the invitation last month for what it described as “technical discussions” on migration management. EU officials have stressed that the engagement should not be interpreted as formal diplomatic recognition of the Taliban rule.
“Member States are looking into ways to return persons who have committed serious crimes and who are possibly a security threat. So this is the initiative that the Commission is now following up on,” Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The planned meeting has drawn strong criticism from human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as Afghan activists and several members of the European Parliament. Critics argue that hosting Taliban representatives could undermine international accountability efforts and contribute to the normalization of the group’s rule.
Richard Bennett, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, said inviting Taliban representatives to Brussels would be “an insult to the people of Afghanistan, especially women,” citing the group’s restrictions on women’s rights, education, and public participation.
In a statement on Tuesday, Amnesty International once again urged EU member states to abandon deportation plans to Afghanistan and end cooperation with Taliban authorities on returns, saying the country remains unsafe.
“The Taliban’s institutionalized system of repression affects every aspect of daily life,” said Eve Geddie, Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office, pointing to severe restrictions on women and girls, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and torture.
”Any EU engagement on deportations to Afghanistan is reckless, dangerous, and ignores the EU’s own legal obligations – notably the obligation not to return anyone to a situation where their life may be at risk,” she added.
