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In August 2021, the government in Kabul collapsed and gave way to the Taliban in the wake of the US pulling its forces out of Afghanistan.
Four years later, the Taliban seem to have a firm grip on power.
So firm, in fact, that some governments, including the one in Germany, are stealthily building ties to the de-facto government in Kabul.
Russia became the first country to officially recognize the Taliban in early July.
“In this way, Russia is taking over the US role in Afghanistan, which the US gave up voluntarily with the withdrawal of its troops four years ago,” says Sardar Rahimi, an international relations researcher from the Inalco University in Paris.
Russia recognizes Afghanistan’s Taliban governmentTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
China is also maintaining close economic and political ties to the Taliban regime.
Beijing has not officially recognized the Taliban government, but President Xi Jinping notably accepted the Taliban ambassador’s letters of credentials with full honors prescribed by diplomatic protocol in January 2024.
China needs Afghanistan and its raw materials for its global infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
According to Rahimi, the West must face the fact that the Taliban control every aspect of public life in Afghanistan.
“This is also the foundation of ties between other countries and the Taliban regime,” he told DW.
Afghans deported from Germany Germany has organized two deportation flights to Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in August 2021. A total of 109 Afghan nationals were sent to their home country — over half of them were convicted felons.
German deportations to Afghanistan spark rebukeTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
For this to happen, the Taliban authorities needs to confirm the migrants’ citizenship — usually by issuing a passport or a similar travel document.
This has made it necessary for German officials to hold intensive talks with the regime.
In July, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul confirmed there was communication with the Taliban on a technical level. Speaking with the RedaktionsNetzwerk media group, he said this was strictly a practical matter without political or legal implications.
“The German government needs to communicate with many regimes and government whose opinions and acts we do not approve of. Still, sometimes our interests demand that we stay in some sort of contact. Everything else would be a denial of reality,” he said at the time.
Human rights groups such as Pro Asyl decry the deportation flights as “a blatant violation of international law.” The European Convention on Human Rights, an international treaty, prohibits deportations to countries where there is a danger of inhumane treatment.
Expulsion waves from Pakistan and Iran The number of deportees from Europe, however, fades in comparison to the mass deportations from Afghanistan’s neighbors Iran and Pakistan.
The UN’s refugee agency UNHCR has registered over 2.1 million deportations from those two countries just in the first seven months of 2025. Half of the repatriations were conducted forcefully, according to the agency.
Nowhere to call home: Afghans in Pakistan forced to returnTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
The massive influx of returnees poses an immense challenge for the Taliban regime, as the ex-migrants return to the country without accommodation, work, or income.
However, this humanitarian disaster is playing into the Taiban hands. The extremist group is using the crisis to ensure maximum control and they feel the West is humiliated by seeking to communicate with Kabul.
The Taliban do not provide extensive information on what happens to the returnees once they are in the country.
Human rights disaster Independent watchdog groups report sustained and systematic violations of human rights in Afghanistan. Women’s rights especially are being used as a bargaining chip, says Shukria Barakzai, a former Afghani diplomat.
“The Taliban use women for their own goals,” she told DW. “They increase pressure on women with new limitations in order to legitimize their rule.”
The only form of education available to many girls in Afghanistan is attending religious schools focusing on Quran teachingsImage: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP/picture alliance Women have been fully removed from public life in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover. Some 1.4 million girls aged 12 and above are no longer allowed to attend school, and young women have been banned from high schools and universities. Human rights organizations are seeing gender-based violence towards women and girls all over the country.
At the same time, government critics and journalists fear persecution from the Islamist regime.
According to Reporters without Borders (RSF) at least 12 journalists were shot in 2024, and the Taliban are known to raid media outlets, detain or persecute media employees and censor their reports. The country is ranked as 175 out 180 nations on press freedom.
Half of Afghanistan dependent on shrinking foreign aid With poverty rampant in Afghanistan, nearly 23 million people are dependent on foreign aid, according to EU Commission data. This is roughly half of the country’s population.
The UN’s World Food Programme estimates that every fourth Afghan faces food insecurity, and every third child is malnourished.
The humanitarian crisis escalated last month when the US dissolved USAID, causing three million people to lose access to medical care and 420 clinics to close.
Germany has paid €551 million ($644 million) in development aid for Afghanistan since 2021. The Taliban have no influence on projects funded by German tax payers, according to Germany’s Economic Development and Cooperation Ministry, with the funds directed to the World Bank, the UN agencies and NGOs.
However, the new German government has halted the relocation program for Afghans who worked for Germany in Afghanistan before 2021. Up to 2,400 of these people currently have permission to relocate to Germany, but are not able to obtain a visa that would allow them to actually make the trip. They are stuck in legal limbo and forced to remain in Iran or Pakistan, facing acute danger of being deported.
Hopes for safety in Germany are fading for Afghan refugeesTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
In early July, a Berlin court ruled that an Afghan woman and her family need to be given German visas after waiting in Pakistan for over year. The Afghans face “danger to life and limb” in Pakistan, according to the German judge. However, the German government has refused to comply and instead asked a higher court to review the decision.
With additional reporting by Shabnam Alokozay and Waheed Ahmady
This article has been translated from German
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