Overview

• A joint UNAMA and UN Human Rights Office report based on interviews with 49 returnees documents widespread torture, arbitrary arrests and threats by Taliban authorities.
• Iran and Pakistan have forcibly sent more than 1.9 million Afghans home this year, with UNHCR projecting up to 3 million returnees by year-end.
• On July 18 Germany operated its second deportation flight, returning 81 convicted Afghans under agreements with Taliban representatives.
• The German government has for the first time integrated two Taliban-appointed consular staff into its consular services to facilitate future deportations.
• Opposition figures including Omid Nouripour accuse the move of legitimizing a terrorist regime while government spokespeople defend it as a necessary technical measure.