Germany allows IEA officials to enter country to coordinate deportations

Germany has authorised a team of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) representatives to temporarily enter the country to help coordinate the deportation of Afghan nationals, the German government said Monday.

A German Foreign Ministry spokesman told a press conference in Berlin that the government had approved the short-term entry of a “technical support team” with the aim of increasing the number of deportations to Afghanistan.

“It is in our interest that Afghan representations are able to provide consular services for the roughly 450,000 Afghan nationals in Germany and contribute in particular to return operations,” the spokesman said.

He said the representatives had undergone security checks, were not accredited as diplomats in Germany and would leave the country after a short stay.

Germany has tightened its migration policies under conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz following years of accepting large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers. The government has said deportations to Afghanistan would primarily target convicted criminals.

However, Germany deported 23 Afghan men to Afghanistan last week, including some who had not been convicted of a crime, according to reports.

Human rights organisations have strongly criticised deportations to Afghanistan, citing concerns over the human rights situation and alleged abuses under the IEA.