Amid push to deport, Kabul urges Germany to protect rights of Afghan immigrants

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Afghanistan’s interim Taliban administration on Friday urged Germany to protect the rights of Afghan immigrants after Berlin announced it would deport those found guilty of serious crimes.

Kabul is “monitoring the decision to deport Afghan nationals from Germany,” Abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesman for the interim Afghan Foreign Ministry, said in a statement on X.

Voicing hope that the issue is managed through diplomatic channels, Balkhi called for protection of the rights of Afghans so that they “may not encounter an unknown fate under one or another pretext, or in contravention to all established conventions handed over to a third country.”

Balkhi said the Kabul administration “calls upon the German authorities to address the matter through normal consular engagement and an appropriate mechanism based on bilateral agreement.”

Kabul’s statement came a day after Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany is planning to change its regulations to deport Afghans and Syrians who have committed serious crimes.

Addressing lawmakers in parliament following a deadly knife attack on a police officer, Scholz said Germany will not tolerate religious extremists or criminals who exploit the country’s laws protecting refugees.

“Such criminals should be deported even if they come from Syria and Afghanistan. Serious criminals and terrorists have no place here. In such cases the security interests of Germany outweigh the perpetrator’s interests in protection,” he said.

Scholz said the German Interior Ministry is working on legal changes and practical steps to enable the deportation to their home country of Afghan nationals who have committed terrorist acts or serious crimes.​​​​​​​