Summary
- The French government has confirmed ‘technical’ talks with the Taliban to facilitate the deportation to Afghanistan of Afghan nationals residing without legal status or who are considered a national security threat in France.
Editor's note: this story was translated from the original VOA Pashto article.
The French government has confirmed ‘technical’ talks with the Taliban to facilitate the deportation to Afghanistan of Afghan nationals residing without legal status or who are considered a national security threat in France.
This is “strictly technical to facilitate the removal of Afghan nationals, nationals who are illegally on the [French] national territory and who pose a national security risk,” a spokesperson for France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said Thursday in a press conference.
Agence France-Presse reported on the talks on Tuesday, citing unnamed French officials. These sources told AFP that the talks did not mean that France would recognize the Taliban’s government as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.
France suspended expulsion of Afghan nationals whose asylum applications had been rejected in 2021, when the Taliban took over Afghanistan.
France has not maintained diplomatic relations with the Taliban since they returned to power in August 2021, and its embassy in Kabul remains closed.
No country, except Russia, recognizes the Taliban, who seized power in 2021.
However, 20 European Union nations, including France, Germany, Belgium, and Sweden are in favor of establishing contacts with the Taliban to return Afghan nationals whose asylum cases have been rejected or who have been involved in crimes.
In June, a meeting in Brussels between European officials and Taliban representatives sparked criticism from human rights organizations. They condemned any engagement with a regime that, since returning to power, has imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law and deprived women and girls of fundamental rights.
The spokesperson for France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs noted that female asylum seekers would not be deported to Afghanistan.
Under the Taliban, Afghan women have been barred from working with government and non-government organizations, education beyond sixth grade, going to public baths, beauty salons and gyms.
According to UNESCO, approximately 2.4 million Afghan girls are currently excluded from secondary education.
Noshaba Ashna and Roshan Noorzai from VOA's Afghan service contributed to this report.