Berlin carried out first deportation since Taliban takeover after months of negotiations Up to 28 Afghans released after providing ‘written assurances’ of lawful behavior LONDON: Dozens of Afghans deported from Germany have been freed by the Taliban government, The Independent reported. Germany’s first deportation of Afghans since the 2021 Taliban takeover came as Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, vowed to crack down on foreign criminals. Up to 28 Afghans were sent back to Afghanistan about a week ago and were subsequently released after providing “written assurances,” the Taliban said. Suhail Shahin, the chief of the Taliban political bureau in Qatar, said that the deportees pledged to avoid committing crimes in Afghanistan. Amnesty International and other human rights groups criticized the German government for placing the Afghans at risk in their homeland. The deportation, which was carried out after months of negotiations, followed a series of high-profile attacks in Germany by Afghan and Syrian suspects. In May, a 25-year-old Afghan stabbed a German police officer. A week ago, a Syrian national allegedly carried out a deadly knife attack in Solingen, killing three people and injuring eight others. Scholz said: “It outrages me when someone who has found protection here commits the most serious crimes.” However, Germany will avoid normalizing relations with the Taliban despite the deportation deal. A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said: “As long as the general conditions are as they are, and the Taliban behave the way they do, there will be no effort to normalize relations with the Taliban. “There are contacts on a technical level, especially through our representative office in Doha.” Scholz is overseeing negotiations between the government, opposition and German state governments to expedite deportations from the country and curb migration. He also announced measures to remove state financial support for refugees entering Germany via other EU countries.