Sweden Backs ‘Technical Engagement’ With Taliban On Deporting Afghan Asylum Seekers

In a statement released on Thursday, the EU said it had signed an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme to implement the programme’s second phase in cooperation with local partners. The EU said the new phase builds on the results and lessons of the initial stage.

The programme will support Afghan women across different stages of economic activity, including the establishment and expansion of small businesses, as well as access to financial and technical services adapted to Afghanistan’s social and economic context.

According to the statement, the initiative aims to remove barriers to women’s participation in the economy, improve access for women entrepreneurs to financial resources and markets, and strengthen income-generating skills.

The EU said the programme will promote “culturally appropriate and Sharia-compliant financial mechanisms,” alongside business development support, mentorship and market linkages.

The project will be implemented mainly in underserved provinces in central Afghanistan, where the EU says women’s participation in the labour force remains low and access to financial services is limited.

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.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Commission said an estimated 239 million people worldwide currently require humanitarian assistance, noting that many donors have reduced their humanitarian budgets.

The European Union said the funding is targeted at communities with the greatest needs and will provide life-saving food assistance, emergency shelter, essential healthcare, support for the most vulnerable, and help for children’s education in crisis-affected areas.

The EU added that, despite other donors scaling back and humanitarian operations facing unprecedented pressure, it remains committed to supporting people in need worldwide.

According to the Commission, €557 million has been allocated to west and central Africa, the Lake Chad Basin, north-west Nigeria, central Africa, southern Africa and the Great Lakes region. At least €448 million has been earmarked for the Middle East, particularly for those in Gaza, Iraq, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon.

About €145 million has been allocated for humanitarian needs in Ukraine this year. The Commission said several countries in south-east Asia, South America and North Africa are also included in the 2026 humanitarian assistance package.

In addition, more than €415 million has been set aside to respond to sudden global emergencies and to maintain supply chains for essential humanitarian needs.

A spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Public Works said snow depth in North Salang has exceeded four metres, while in South Salang it has reached nearly three metres. Mohammad Ashraf Haqshenas said ongoing storms and snowfall have hampered snow-clearing operations in the area.

Several regional roads have also been closed. Routes linking Bamiyan province to the districts of Yakaolang and Panjab are shut, as are roads connecting Parwan and Ghor provinces. In Daikundi province, the Khadir, Qonaq, Kumi and Shahristan–Miramor routes have been closed. Roads in several districts of Ghazni province, including Nawur, Ajristan, Malistan and Jaghori, are also impassable.

Taliban officials said routes connecting Khost and Paktia provinces have likewise been closed due to severe weather.

Images published from Maidan Wardak province show heavy snowfall, while snow continues to fall in Herat province.

The Ministry of Public Works has urged travellers and drivers to check road conditions before setting out and to carry essential supplies, including warm clothing, food, fuel and tyre chains, when travelling on snow-covered routes.

In an interview with Afghanistan International, Ahadi said there is neither safety nor confidence for investors, nor clear laws or professional cadres within government bodies. As a result, he said, Afghanistan’s economic outlook remains bleak.

The former finance minister added that while some small-scale economic projects are under way, conditions for large-scale investment remain high-risk. He pointed to the lack of a constitutional and legal framework, noting that governance under the Taliban relies largely on decrees issued by the group’s leader. “When a country does not have a constitution, what other law can it possibly have?” he said.

Ahadi said international pressure and isolation, the severing of Afghanistan’s banking ties with the global financial system, the continued freezing of central bank assets and Taliban economic policies have all further restricted space for investment.

The Taliban have sought to attract investors by emphasising security and an economy-focused approach, but the administration remains under international sanctions. Ahadi also said the Taliban face a shortage of skilled professionals, as a large segment of Afghanistan’s educated workforce has emigrated.

“It is not acceptable for a specialist to do the work while their supervisor is a mullah, cleric, qari or Quran memoriser,” Ahadi said, adding that professionals may tolerate such conditions in the short term, but not over time.

He also addressed the suspension of trade and transit with Pakistan, describing Islamabad’s political use of trade routes as “unjustified”. Ahadi said Afghanistan bears the greatest losses from the halt in trade, noting that alternative routes through Iran and Central Asia are more costly and offer limited benefit. According to him, the Pakistan route remains the most economically viable.

Ahadi described ongoing tensions and clashes between the Taliban and Pakistan as “irrational and irresponsible”, warning that the situation is damaging to both sides.