Austria Deports First Afghan Asylum Seeker Since Taliban Takeover

According to Mashriq, a Peshawar-based newspaper, the visit will focus on facilitating cross-border commerce, regulating the movement of goods and people, and implementing the “One Document Regime” aimed at streamlining trade procedures between the two countries.

Sources cited by the paper said the trip had been planned in advance and is not linked to recent clashes at the Torkham border crossing or the rising tension between Kabul and Islamabad.

However, the delegation’s agenda also includes discussions on enforcing the recently agreed ceasefire and addressing Pakistan’s demand that the Taliban curb Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other armed groups operating from Afghan territory.

Government sources said another key objective of the visit is to build mutual trust and develop a joint framework for regional stability and security between the Taliban and Islamabad.

His remarks came after both the Afghan Taliban and Imran Khan, the imprisoned leader of Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party, urged Islamabad to resolve its dispute with the TTP through dialogue.

Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban reached a Qatar-mediated ceasefire agreement on Sunday to halt hostilities following a week of border clashes.

Asif said the Taliban delegation in Doha had pledged to restrain Pakistani militants, adding that the continuation of the ceasefire depended on the Taliban’s commitment to that promise. He described the talks as having taken place in a "friendly atmosphere.”

The defence minister also clarified that the draft ceasefire agreement contains only four clauses, dismissing the longer version circulating on social media as fabricated.

He added that further discussions on the ceasefire’s implementation will be held in Türkiye in the coming days, while noting that he remains cautiously optimistic about the Taliban administration’s adherence to the truce.

The revelation, featured in the latest episode of MDR’s documentary series titled “Afghanistan and the Refugees, Germany’s False Promises,” sheds light on the growing despair among Afghans who fled to Pakistan following the Taliban takeover of Kabul in 2021. Many had hoped for resettlement in Germany but have since been living for years in uncertainty and under threat of deportation.

According to MDR, Germany’s admission programmes for at-risk Afghans have helped only a small fraction of applicants, hampered by slow processing and administrative barriers. The government now intends to cancel the initiatives entirely.

The report said around 2,000 Afghan citizens who had previously received assurances of relocation from Germany remain stranded in Pakistan awaiting visas. Many are women’s rights activists, journalists, human rights defenders, and former employees of the German military, all of whom face the risk of arrest or execution by the Taliban if forced to return to Afghanistan.

The documentary’s producers warned that such a decision could mark “the official end of Germany’s moral responsibility” toward its former Afghan partners and allies.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Asif said Pakistan and the Taliban had agreed to establish joint mechanisms to address security concerns and prevent future clashes. He thanked the Emir of Qatar and the President of Türkiye for their diplomatic efforts in mediating the ceasefire.

Referring to the recent surge in border tensions, Asif said both countries recognised that tackling terrorism is vital for regional peace and stability. He added that the Afghan Taliban also view terrorism as the key source of friction and have pledged to take practical steps to address it. He added that the involvement of Qatar and Türkiye serves as a guarantee of the credibility of this agreement.

Asif noted that Pakistan has endured heavy human and economic losses due to terrorism but expressed hope that the ceasefire would pave the way for peace and stability. The agreement, he said, would also help normalise trade and transit relations between the two neighbours.

He announced that Afghanistan would again be allowed to use Pakistan’s ports for trade, while Afghan refugees holding valid documents and visas would be permitted to remain in Pakistan. Those without documentation, however, would continue to be repatriated.

The minister stressed that the Pakistan–Afghanistan border must be managed “in an orderly manner and in accordance with international standards.”

Asif cautioned that it was too early to declare full satisfaction with the agreement.

The aide, Abdullah Azzam, claimed Baradar warned Hameed that Taliban fighters would respond to Pakistani military actions “in the language of bullets” during a discussion in Qatar over the Durand Line dispute.

In a post on X, Abdullah Azzam, chief of staff to Mullah Baradar, said the meeting took place on June 3, 2021, in Qatar, during discussions on intra-Afghan negotiations. According to Azzam, then–ISI Director-General Faiz Hameed asked Baradar to stop Taliban fighters from firing at Pakistani troops and from obstructing the construction of barbed-wire fencing along the Durand Line.

Azzam quoted Baradar as responding, “I’m responsible for political affairs, why are you talking to me? What you’re saying concerns the military commanders, and they respond in their own language (meaning gunfire).”

Azzam said he attended the meeting as an interpreter and claimed the conversation occurred at Hameed’s request. He added that Hameed told Baradar Pakistani forces had nearly completed fencing along the Durand Line but that Taliban fighters in Bahramcha were resisting the effort. “About 500 Mujahideen have gathered, firing at our forces and preventing the work,” Hameed reportedly said.

Faiz Hameed, who served as ISI chief from 2019 to 2021, became internationally known after the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August 2021, when he was photographed drinking tea with Taliban officials at Kabul’s Serena Hotel. He is now facing charges in Pakistan over political interference, violations of national security laws, and misuse of state resources.

No previous reports from 2021 mentioned a meeting between Hameed and Baradar about the Durand Line, and the former ISI chief has not commented on Azzam’s claims.

Azzam’s account comes amid renewed debate over the Taliban’s stance on the Durand Line, the disputed border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The controversy resurfaced after Qatar’s Foreign Ministry referred to it as a “border” in a statement about the recent Taliban–Pakistan ceasefire, contradicting the Taliban, who call it an “imaginary line.” Qatar later removed the term from its statement.

Azzam concluded that before regaining power, “the Taliban, while at war with 45 countries, were willing to fight another nation over a single strand of barbed wire, let alone recognise the Durand Line.” He also shared a photo allegedly showing the 2021 meeting, appearing to depict Faiz Hameed praying behind Mullah Baradar in Qatar.