Overview
- The Interior Ministry confirmed on Sunday that up to three charter flights per month to Kabul will be possible and that individual removals by regular airlines can continue, formalizing a shift from sporadic to sustained returns.
- Officials say the expansion followed confidential technical‑level talks with Taliban representatives to secure operational cooperation for identification and travel documents.
- The Foreign Office approved additional Afghan consular staff in Germany to help issue and verify passports with officials stating ‘not more than four’ will be added while separate reporting suggests the Taliban sought six, creating a public discrepancy over the exact figure.
- Ministers frame the policy as a safety measure to remove convicted criminals and ‘Gefährder’ from German prisons, while lawyers and human‑rights groups warn it risks returning people to persecution and could effectively elevate Taliban authority.
- The plan requires a new logistics chain — charters, more consular capacity, police coordination and state registrations — and could affect EU talks on returns and Germany’s wider diplomatic position toward the Taliban.