Afghans with serious criminal offenses deported from Germany say they will return to the country
Several of the Afghans deported from Germany to Kabul last Friday have already expressed their intention to return to German territory, according to local media — a sign of the difficulties Berlin faces in carrying out long-term expulsions.
The flight, which departed from the city of Leipzig, transported 81 Afghan men, all of whom had been convicted of crimes or classified as security threats. At Kabul airport, several of the deportees told Afghan journalists that they would soon try to return to Germany.
Initially, the operation was planned for 100 people, but issues with fingerprint verification and confirming identities limited the final number to 81, according to Focus magazine. German police accompanied the flight, handing the deportees directly over to Afghan authorities along with each individual’s case file. According to official Abdulmutalib Haqqani, the cases will be reviewed and judged according to Islamic Sharia law.
The deportation is the result of long negotiations with the Taliban regime and is presented as the first step toward establishing regular deportations to Afghanistan. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has firmly rejected accusations that these talks imply any recognition of the Taliban regime: “Diplomatic recognition of the Taliban regime is not even on the table,” he stated on Friday.
Meanwhile, Afghan spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi confirmed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued travel documents for the 81 deportees in accordance with current legal procedures. At the same time, organizations in Germany that support illegal immigration have already launched legal actions to halt further deportations, and it remains to be seen whether the measure will become a sustainable return policy.
The deportation also coincides with a legal setback for the German government last week, when courts ordered the administration to admit thousands of Afghans awaiting relocation under the humanitarian program of the previous government. An estimated 2,400 Afghans are currently waiting in Pakistan with approved visas to be transferred to Germany. The Merz administration has attempted to freeze this program, but the courts have ruled that the promises must be honored, thereby weakening the government’s efforts to tighten migration controls.
