Taliban Talks Focus On Deporting Afghan Criminal Offenders, Says EC

The broadcaster said Taliban forces stormed its offices on the eve of Tasua and Ashura.

The network urged the public to follow developments closely and stressed the need for vigilance regarding unfolding events.

A representative of the station confirmed to Afghanistan International that the situation was ongoing but declined to provide further details. The Taliban have not yet commented on the incident.

Tamadon TV is one of Afghanistan’s first private religious broadcasters and was founded by Asif Mohseni, the late leader of the Islamic Movement Party.

In June 2024, the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice announced that Tamadon TV would be shut down because of its alleged links to the Islamic Movement Party and its use of what the ministry described as state land that had been unlawfully appropriated. The ministry argued that media outlets affiliated with political parties are not permitted to operate in Afghanistan.

At the time, the Afghanistan Journalists Centre described the ministry’s move against Tamadon TV as a political decision that violated the country’s media law.

The group claimed that two Taliban members were killed and two others wounded in the attack.

According to the group, the attack took place at around 8:20pm local time in Kabul’s 12th police district, in the National Directorate of Security residential township.

The Taliban have not commented on the claim, and Afghanistan International has been unable to independently verify the details of the incident or the reported casualty figures.

In its statement, the Afghanistan Freedom Front described the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice as one of the main institutions responsible for enforcing social restrictions in Afghanistan and said it monitors the activities of the ministry’s personnel.

The Afghanistan Freedom Front is one of several armed groups opposed to the Taliban and has claimed responsibility for dozens of guerrilla attacks against Taliban forces and officials since the group returned to power.

The appeal came after Belgium issued one-day visas to five members of a Taliban delegation expected to attend a European Union meeting on migration in Brussels.

A spokesperson for Belgium’s Foreign Ministry said the visas have limited territorial and temporal validity, allowing the delegation to remain only in Belgium and for a single day. Two European officials said the visas were valid Tuesday, June 23.

The Belgian ministry has not disclosed the meeting’s location or precise timing, citing security concerns.

In an open letter, members of the European Parliament, German federal lawmakers and former members of Afghanistan’s parliament said that issuing visas or holding official political meetings with Taliban representatives would send a signal of acceptance to a group that has sought international recognition since returning to power in August 2021.

“Every invitation, every visa and every official meeting sends a political signal,” said Hannah Neumann, a German member of the European Parliament from the Greens-European Free Alliance group.

“The Taliban are not seeking technical discussions, they are seeking legitimacy. The EU established clear benchmarks for engagement in 2021. Nearly five years later, none have been met. Instead, the Taliban have systematically dismantled the rights of women and girls and intensified political repression. Europe should not trade its principles for deportation deals,” Neumann said.

The European Commission has described the planned talks as technical and said they do not amount to recognition of the Taliban government. The meeting is expected to focus on the possible return or readmission of Afghan migrants who do not have a legal right to remain in the EU, particularly those considered security threats.

The planned visit would be the first time the European Union has hosted Taliban representatives since the group seized control of Afghanistan nearly five years ago.

Sources familiar with the arrangements previously told Afghanistan International that the delegation would be led by Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a spokesperson for the Taliban Foreign Ministry, and would travel to Brussels from Türkiye.

The planned meeting has angered Afghan activists and human rights campaigners, who argue that deportees could face detention, persecution or other abuses after being returned to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Campaigners have also warned that hosting Taliban officials in a European capital could contribute to the gradual normalization of the group’s government.

Signatories to the letter include Neumann; Filiz Polat, a member of Germany’s Bundestag from the Alliance 90/The Greens party; Raquel García Hermida-van der Walle of Renew Europe, who chairs the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with Afghanistan; and Alessandra Moretti of the Socialists and Democrats group, the delegation’s vice chair.

Former Afghan parliamentarian and women’s rights advocate Fawzia Koofi and members of the Afghan Parliamentary Network also signed the letter.

The signatories called on EU institutions and national governments to refrain from inviting Taliban representatives to Brussels or other European capitals and to reject arrangements linking deportation cooperation to political engagement.

They also urged European governments to maintain the benchmarks for engagement established by the EU in 2021 and to prioritize assistance for Afghan civil society organizations, women human rights defenders and people persecuted by the Taliban.

The letter was sent to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever.

A spokesperson for Belgium’s Foreign Ministry said the visas carry limited territorial and temporal validity and are valid only in Belgium and for a single day.

Two European officials said the delegation had been granted one-day visas valid only on Tuesday, June 23.

Belgium’s Foreign Ministry has not disclosed the exact timing of the visit for security reasons.

Sources previously told Afghanistan International that the Taliban delegation, led by Abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesperson for the group’s Foreign Ministry, would travel from Turkiye to Brussels on Tuesday.

The visit, described as a technical meeting focused on the return of Afghan migrants, marks the first time the European Union has hosted Taliban representatives since the group returned to power nearly five years ago. The move has angered human rights activists and prompted protests from Afghan campaigners.

According to the sources, Russia is providing funding, training and military equipment for the force.

The sources said one of the unit’s key missions will be conducting operations against the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP aka ISIS-K).

According to information received by Afghanistan International, the special force was established on the orders of Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and will be responsible for securing Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan. The unit is also tasked with countering ISKP activities and preventing members of the group from entering Afghanistan.

Available information suggests that the force will operate outside the Taliban’s formal security structures and will answer directly to Akhundzada. The Taliban’s ministries of defence and interior will have no authority over its operations.

Sources in Kandahar and Kabul said existing Taliban border posts will continue functioning, but final decisions on border-related matters will rest with the new unit.

According to the sources, around 4,000 members of the force are currently stationed in Zhari district of Kandahar, where recruitment and registration are continuing. Another 4,000 personnel are being organised and prepared in Kabul.

The sources added that members of the unit will receive higher salaries and benefits than other Taliban forces, with recruitment beginning at officer level rather than ordinary rank-and-file positions.

The force is also expected to be equipped with advanced weapons, night-vision technology, military vehicles, helicopters and surveillance drones. Members will receive training in border patrol operations, anti-smuggling missions and the use of advanced technologies.

Claims of Russian support for the force have not been officially confirmed.

However, three weeks ago Taliban Defence Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid signed a military and technical cooperation agreement with Russia. Under the agreement, Russia pledged military and technical assistance to the Taliban, while the Taliban committed to containing threats posed by ISKP to Central Asian countries.

The formation of the unit comes at a time when relations between the Taliban and Pakistan have been highly strained for nearly eight months.