Sources told Afghanistan International that the Taliban have placed a guesthouse in Kabul housing Afghans promised admission to Germany under heightened surveillance following a raid earlier this week.
According to the sources, the guesthouse, which accommodates about 80 people, has been monitored for the past four days, with residents repeatedly questioned by Taliban members. Those staying there were deported to Afghanistan about two months ago after their Pakistani visas expired, despite holding German admission pledges, and were subsequently housed in a guesthouse in central Kabul.
The sources said the cost of accommodation is being covered by the German government.
Taliban interrogators questioned residents about their backgrounds, the timing of their return from Pakistan, the length of their stay there, their reasons for seeking relocation to Germany and the entity paying their expenses. Residents were reportedly barred from contacting anyone outside the guesthouse, and internal meetings among them were also prohibited.
The sources added that Taliban members have maintained a constant presence at the site, converting one room into an interrogation office. Families were filmed during questioning, and computers were confiscated.
On Wednesday, Taliban forces reportedly surrounded the guesthouse with 13 vehicles before entering the building.
The sources also said that four residents, including two LGBTQ individuals, went missing after the raid, and no information has been provided about their whereabouts.
Those staying at the guesthouse include former local staff of Germany, judges, human rights activists, women’s rights activists, LGBTQ individuals and journalists.
Separately, several Afghans holding German admission pledges including a family of seven scheduled to be transferred from Islamabad to Kabul were returned at the last minute to a guesthouse at Islamabad airport following intervention by the German government.
German media have reported that the security situation for Afghans with German admission pledges in both Kabul and Pakistan has deteriorated. Germany’s interior minister is seeking to reduce migration pressures while also grappling with commitments made by the previous government to Afghans promised admission.
Human rights activists accuse the German government of leaving Afghans with admission pledges in limbo and exposing some of them to the risk of serious harm or death.
