Vienna — Austria has confirmed that officials from Afghanistan’s Taliban regime recently visited the Interior Ministry in Vienna, underscoring sensitive new contacts as the government seeks to press ahead with deportations of Afghan nationals convicted of crimes.
The ministry acknowledged the visit Thursday after reports in Der Standard, telling APA and Kurier that cooperation with Taliban authorities and Austria’s Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum (BFA) was “necessary” to carry out removals.
Austria, like several other European states, is determined to deport rejected Afghan asylum seekers who have broken the law, even though Afghanistan remains under the control of the hard-line Islamist Taliban. Germany has already conducted deportations to Kabul, a move that drew international criticism from human rights groups.
According to the ministry, Taliban officials took part in the identification process of around two dozen individuals set for removal. Earlier this year, Austrian BFA representatives traveled to Afghanistan for talks — making this at least the second known instance of direct engagement between Vienna and the Taliban administration since the group’s return to power in 2021.
The cooperation reflects Austria’s hardening stance on migration and security. Interior officials argue that deportations of serious offenders are essential to maintaining public trust in the asylum system. Critics, however, warn that sending people back to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan could place them at grave risk.
While the ministry stressed the practical nature of the talks, the quiet contacts highlight the dilemmas European governments face: balancing domestic demands for tougher deportations with the reality of negotiating, however reluctantly, with an internationally isolated regime.
