Muttaqi talks refugees’ repatriation with Qatari official

KABUL (Pajhwok): Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Maulvi Amir Khan Muttaqi and a Qatari official have discussed the imminent deportation of more Afghan asylum seekers from Germany and the situation of other returnees.

He assured that Afghan diplomats in Germany would provide transparent consular services to Afghan residing in the European country.

Muttaqi held a phone conversation with Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, Minister of State at Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said.

A statement from the ministry said the two sides discussed bilateral ties between Kabul and Doha, return process of 18 Afghan asylum seekers from Germany, the remaining phases of this process and the recent wave of refugee returns to Afghanistan.

Muttaqi described relations between Afghanistan and Qatar as growing and thanked Qatar for its cooperation in the recent negotiations and progress with the German government.

He said that with the help of humanitarian organisations, they would be able to help repatriated Afghans from Germany resume a normal life in the country.

He also gave assurances that Afghan diplomats in Germany would provide transparent consular services to Afghans and that future discussions would progress positively.

For his part, the Qatari minister also said that Afghanistan holds a special place in Qatar’s foreign policy.

He described the recent progress in facilitating cooperation between Afghanistan and Germany as significant.

He promised that the Qatari government would continue playing a constructive role in the upcoming phases of this process.

He added that his country was closely monitoring the recent wave of refugee returns to Afghanistan and is working with the relevant bodies to help the Afghan government manage the situation.

This development comes as a reliable source from the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Pajhwok Afghan News on Monday night that two Afghan diplomats, Nibrasul Haq Aziz and Mustafa Hashimi, have arrived in the German capital, Berlin.

According to reports, Germany has confirmed that it will accept the two consular representatives sent by the Islamic Emirate to facilitate the technical aspects of repatriating Afghan refugees labelled as “criminals.”

This follows last week’s deportation of 81 Afghan asylum seekers from Germany. The German Interior Ministry stated that the deported individuals had committed crimes in the country.

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