Secret deal: Germany reportedly agrees to more Taliban diplomats for deportation flights

Germany appears to have made concessions to the Taliban to increase deportation flights to Afghanistan, according to an investigation by public broadcaster NDR. The agreement reportedly includes allowing six more Taliban diplomats into Germany, a crucial demand from the radical Islamists.

Sources indicate the deal is the result of several days of confidential meetings in Istanbul between representatives of the Taliban government, high-ranking officials from the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, and diplomats. While the Interior Ministry confirmed that talks occurred "at a technical level," it declined to comment on the meeting's location or duration. The Foreign Ministry confirmed Istanbul as the meeting site to NDR.

Under the agreement, charter flights to Kabul will be expanded to three per month, with individual deportations also possible on regular flights. This comes as reports suggest at least a hundred convicted Afghan criminals awaiting deportation are currently in custody in Germany. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt stated that such deportations would be carried out "regularly and reliably," emphasizing that "anyone who abuses our protection and commits serious crimes here must seek their future in their homeland."

The Taliban had long conditioned their cooperation on deportation flights with the dispatch of more diplomats, citing the need to unequivocally identify deportees as Afghan citizens and issue travel documents. Previously, only two Taliban consular officials were stationed in Germany. A deportation flight planned for late May was postponed due to the Taliban's insistence on their demand for additional diplomats, a demand initially rejected by the German government. The flight eventually proceeded last Monday, carrying 32 Afghan criminals to Kabul via a Turkish Airlines plane.

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Anyone who abuses our protection and commits serious crimes here must seek their future in their homeland. Our society has a legitimate interest in ensuring that criminals leave our country. This will be consistently enforced.