First EU state under Taliban leadershipTaliban head embassy in Berlin: The federal government knew nothing!

A member of the radical Islamic Taliban has been appointed head of the Afghan embassy in Berlin, according to a report. The federal government was not informed about this step, reported the “Tagesschau”. Germany is the first EU state in which the Taliban actually runs an embassy. The federal government does not recognize the Taliban, which took power in Afghanistan in August 2021, as a legitimate government.

According to the report, Taliban member Nebrasul H. acts as the so-called chargé d'affaires at the Afghan embassy in Berlin. A chargé d'affaires heads an embassy in the absence of an ambassador. Taliban forces are increasingly taking over embassies around the world: the Talibs are already said to be in China, Russia, Qatar, Turkey and Iran.

According to the ARD report, Nebrasul H. was one of two consular officials who came to Berlin in July with the approval of the federal government. However, the Taliban left the federal government in the dark about their plans to later commission him to head the embassy.

According to ARD research, the previous chargé d'affaires Abdul P. is now only a kind of straw man, although he is still named as chargé d'affaires on the websites of the Afghan Foreign Ministry and the Foreign Office. He was removed from power at the beginning of January, the ARD reported. Those in power in Kabul did not consider the diplomat sent by the previous government, who is not a Taliban member, trustworthy enough.

The Afghan embassy website actually provides information about the personnel deployed there. However, the site is currently unavailable. Those interested who follow the link will only see an error message.

Although the federal government does not recognize the Taliban as the legitimate Afghan government, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt is trying to work with the Islamists to return Afghan criminals to their homeland. After an agreement was reached with the Taliban government, 20 criminals were deported to Afghanistan for the first time at the end of February.

Sources used: mpa/AFP