France begins talks with Taliban over Afghan deportation

France has started talks with Afghanistan's Taliban government to deport Afghan citizens living in France without legal status who are considered a public-order concern. According to a diplomatic source, the discussions aim to facilitate the direct removal of Afghan nationals in an irregular situation who pose a threat to public order.

France has no diplomatic relations with the Taliban authorities, who returned to power in August 2021, and its embassy in Kabul remains closed. Despite this, France has joined around 20 EU countries, including Germany, Belgium, and Sweden, to speed up the return of Afghans, specifically those who have been convicted by courts.

The Taliban authorities are seeking to strengthen their international standing. A diplomatic source said that the technical dialogue with the Taliban does not change France's position on Afghanistan, and the country is maintaining its support for the Afghan population, particularly Afghan women. The number of individuals who could be deported is not specified, but one source familiar with the matter said it could be "hundreds".

Brief written by urgent.news from Daily Times, Dawn — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.