EU Special Envoy Meets Taliban Foreign Minister In Kabul
Gilles Bertrand, the European Union’s special envoy for Afghanistan, has travelled to Kabul for talks with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s foreign minister.
Gilles Bertrand, the European Union’s special envoy for Afghanistan, has travelled to Kabul for talks with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s foreign minister.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday, that Bertrand assured the continuation of EU assistance to Afghanistan during the meeting.
According to the ministry, Bertrand called for expanded cooperation between the two sides to help attract investment from major foreign companies into Afghanistan.
Muttaqi, expressing appreciation for the EU’s support, urged Europe to take positive steps to advance Afghanistan’s development across various sectors.
The statement said security issues and the situation of migrants returning to Afghanistan were also discussed.
No further details of the meeting have been released.
Bertrand’s first visit to Afghanistan took place earlier this year. During that trip, he met Abdul Salam Hanafi, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister, and the two sides discussed countering drug cultivation and trafficking, as well as the return of Afghan migrants.
Bertrand also said that supporting Afghan women and girls remained one of his top priorities.
A number of Afghan political figures, including Ahmad Massoud, Abdul Rashid Dostum, Ismail Khan, Hanif Atmar, Mohammad Mohaqiq and Atta Mohammad Noor, have called for a UN-supervised intra-Afghan peace talks.
The joint statement, issued under the title “National Consensus of Afghan Political Parties and Movements,” was released on Tuesday during an online meeting aimed at presenting a shared proposal for resolving Afghanistan’s current crisis.
Three days earlier, Afghanistan International had reported that the Islamic Republic of Iran, in meetings with former Afghan officials, was encouraging Taliban opponents to reconcile with the group. The report said a joint “National Consensus” declaration was expected to follow.
In the statement, the signatories stress that Afghanistan’s crisis must be resolved through negotiations and a lasting intra-Afghan agreement, facilitated by the United Nations with support from the UN Security Council, regional countries and the broader international community.
According to the statement, any political settlement must be binding, guarantee sustainable peace, national reconciliation and the establishment of a legitimate governing system. It also states that compliance with the agreement must be the primary condition for recognising any government in Afghanistan, and that the participation of women and young people in the talks must be ensured.
The declaration calls for the restoration of national sovereignty through a legitimate, representative system, and urges coordinated efforts among political and civil forces to reach inclusive agreements and hold free, nationwide elections.
It also emphasises drafting a new constitution, safeguarding Afghanistan’s independence and territorial integrity, and “preventing the country from becoming a battleground for foreign rivalries.”
The signatories identify upholding human rights and combating discrimination as key priorities. They outline several urgent steps: lifting the ban on women’s and girls’ education and employment; halting the arrest and torture of former government employees; preventing land usurpation and forced displacement; stopping the sale of natural resources without public oversight; and removing unlawful restrictions on freedom of expression.
Elsewhere in the statement, the signatories call for increased humanitarian aid and for greater transparency in its distribution. They also urge the ruling group to lift restrictions on women’s work and to use national revenues transparently to meet the needs of vulnerable citizens. Donor countries are asked to step up efforts to prevent the misuse of humanitarian aid, and governments that halted assistance are encouraged to resume it under the supervision of a neutral committee.
The declaration calls on the Taliban to respond to public demands for restoring national sovereignty, resolving the crisis through intra-Afghan dialogue and respecting human rights especially women’s rights. The signatories warn that otherwise Afghans will resort to legitimate means to rescue the country from its current situation.
The statement concludes by urging political and civil groups to support the goals of the National Consensus, and calling on neighbouring states, regional actors and the international community to back the demands of the Afghan people. It also asks the United Nations to ensure the participation of Afghanistan’s political and civil society actors in any UN-led political process.
In recent weeks, some opposition political figures have travelled to Iran. Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the Taliban’s minister of higher education and a close ally of the group’s leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has also visited Tehran. So far, however, no direct talks between the Taliban and opposition figures have been reported.
Iran is concerned that Pakistan, by supporting Afghan opposition groups, could weaken the Taliban regime. Many analysts believe the Islamic Republic does not view the collapse of the Taliban government as being in its interest.
Abdullah Qarluq, spokesperson for the National Resistance Council for Salvation of Afghanistan, says three major political movements opposing the Taliban have reached an agreement and are speaking with a unified voice to address the current crisis.
According to him, the National Resistance Council for Salvation of Afghanistan, the National Assembly for Salvation and the Afghanistan National Movement for Peace and Justice will issue a joint statement.
Spokespersons for these movements say that, for the first time, a broad spectrum of jihadist leaders and technocrats from the former government have come together. They describe the agreement as a “golden opportunity for establishing lasting peace.”
The three movements involved in this coordination are: the Afghanistan National Movement for Peace and Justice, led by Hanif Atmar; the National Resistance Council for Salvation of Afghanistan, which includes figures such as Ahmad Massoud, Ata Mohammad Noor and Yunus Qanuni; and the National Assembly for Salvation, led by Mohammad Mohaqiq, Abdul Rashid Dostum and other leaders.
The agreement is being announced amid reports that, three days earlier, Iran was encouraging anti-Taliban figures in meetings with former Afghan officials to reach a compromise with the Taliban. Recently, some anti-Taliban political figures have travelled to Iran.
Neda Mohammad Nadim, Taliban Minister of Higher Education and a close ally of Hibatullah Akhundzada, has also travelled to Iran.
Yerkin Tukumov, Kazakhstan’s special envoy to Afghanistan discussed border security, combating drug trafficking and continuing cooperation on the construction of a railway via Turkmenistan in a meeting with Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani.
Haqqani also called for regional cooperation with Kazakhstan.
Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Interior, reported the meeting on his X account on Tuesday, 9 December.
According to Qani, Tukumov expressed support for expanding bilateral trade between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan, deepening bilateral relations and backing key economic projects, including the railway.
Haqqani praised relations between the two countries, saying, “Afghanistan is on the path of peace, trade and progress, and expects goodwill and regional cooperation from Kazakhstan.”
Although Kazakhstan, like most countries, has not officially recognised the Taliban administration, it removed the Taliban from its list of terrorist organisations in June 2024.
Kazakhstan has also maintained diplomatic and economic ties with the Taliban and previously accepted a Taliban diplomat as Afghanistan’s acting consul general in Astana.
The Trump administration has shifted its immigration approach into a phase that has resulted in sudden detentions, cancelled interviews and halted legal processes for thousands of Afghans in the United States.
This report, compiled from several US local media outlets, highlights numerous cases of summonses and arrests of Afghans.
In the week since a former Afghan soldier shot two US National Guard troops in Washington, the United States has entered what many observers describe as the most aggressive immigration-policy shift in the country’s recent history. From southern Arizona to immigration offices in Sacramento and New York, a single directive from Donald Trump has cast uncertainty over the future of many Afghans living in the country.
The Incident and the Government’s Immediate Response
On 26 November, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan asylum-seeker, attacked two National Guard soldiers, wounding them. One later died, and the other remains hospitalised. The incident triggered an abrupt change in US immigration policy.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt announced in the days after the shooting that the government had launched a review of all Afghans who entered the United States during the Biden administration. This position is now reflected in decisions and day-to-day actions of immigration agencies.
A Rise in Arrests
Reports from several American media outlets show that in the first weeks following the Washington incident, roughly twenty Afghan nationals have been detained across the United States. The Associated Press reported that many of these arrests occurred in Northern California, home to one of the country’s largest Afghan communities.
Local newspapers, including The Sacramento Bee and the San Francisco Chronicle, published independent reports indicating that at least eight to twelve Afghan men were detained in Sacramento and Northern California. These reports cite sudden summonses, the use of electronic ankle monitors and the cancellation of immigration interviews.
On 1 December, several Afghan men entered a federal building in downtown Sacramento after receiving phone calls from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. According to volunteers who witnessed the events, each man was taken into custody as soon as he entered the building. Local Sacramento outlets reported six arrests that day.
According to immigration attorneys, none of those detained had a serious criminal record. In one instance, the wife of a detainee was visibly distressed as she left the building.
In Des Moines, Iowa, an Afghan man was stopped and arrested by immigration officers on his way to work. Agents accused him of being a terrorist without presenting any evidence. The Associated Press reported that he was released two hours later after the agents apologised.
In New York, reports indicate that Afghan asylum interviews have been cancelled, several individuals have been detained during routine administrative visits and a heightened level of scrutiny is being applied to Afghan cases. Some Afghans who have lived in the United States for years have received urgent calls ordering them to appear immediately.
A Sacramento immigration adviser also confirmed that several Afghan-related interviews scheduled for that week were cancelled.
Meanwhile, an attorney representing an Afghan asylum-seeker said his client, who fled Taliban threats last year, now faces deportation despite committing no crime. The man was detained after entering a federal office building in New York for a routine administrative appointment.
Also in New York, a group of American citizens, including teachers, neighbours, friends and local community members, showed up at a federal building to support an Afghan family of four who had been summoned by immigration authorities. Although they were not invited, they came to testify to the family’s good conduct.
A few days earlier, Jahanshah Safi, a former Afghan military officer, was arrested on allegations that he financed ISIS through his father. But former US intelligence analyst Sarah Adams, speaking in Waynesboro, expressed doubt about the case, saying the accusations were inconsistent with the information known about him. Safi was arrested on 3 December for allegedly “supporting ISIS-K.”
Return to Deterrence Through Enforcement
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has urged Afghan community members to consult an immigration attorney before taking any action, avoid international travel and keep both physical and digital copies of their immigration documents secure. The organisation says it is offering free legal support to those affected and warns that broad immigration freezes targeting Afghans could have serious consequences for families.
What is clear is that Afghans are now at the centre of the United States’ new immigration directives even those who worked for US forces or arrived through legal, scheduled processes. US Citizenship and Immigration Services has stated it is creating a special security-review unit to strengthen the immigration system. The unit will screen the immigration files of “terrorists,” criminal migrants and those posing potential security threats.
Reports from several US states indicate a growing sense of fear and mistrust among Afghan communities. Some individuals have been detained during administrative appointments; families have told local media they lost contact with members after they visited immigration offices; and long-time Afghan residents have received urgent calls ordering them to appear immediately. Cancelled interviews, sudden notices and arrests of people with no criminal history have shaken Afghan communities nationwide.
Reports from Sacramento, New York and other states show rising levels of uncertainty and anxiety. Statements from US officials reveal two opposing perspectives. Congressman Ami Bera of Sacramento has called the situation a form of punishment of all in response to one individual’s actions. The White House, by contrast, insists that national-security considerations allow for no risk.
Human Rights Watch has said the Trump administration’s decision to suspend immigration and asylum processing is discriminatory and targets migrants and asylum-seekers based solely on nationality.
The lawyer for an Afghan asylum-seeker in the United States says his client whofled Taliban threats and harassment last year is now at risk of deportation “without having committed any crime.”
According to the lawyer, the man was detained after entering a government building in New York for what was expected to be a routine administrative appointment.
The asylum-seeker’s family and attorney have withheld his name due to security concerns. A legal complaint filed in his case states that he entered the United States after leaving Afghanistan because of “forced expulsion and death threats from the Taliban.”
He was held for six months in immigration detention in New York before being released on parole, but was recently taken back into custody after appearing at a US government office.
His detention comes after President Donald Trump ordered the suspension of all Afghan immigration cases following a recent shooting in Washington, D.C.
The suspect in that shooting an Afghan asylum-seeker who previously worked with the US government, including the CIA has pleaded not guilty.
Following the incident, migrant-rights advocates say Afghan asylum-seekers and immigrants are increasingly being targeted for detention and deportation across the United States.