Serious concerns have emerged over the safety and treatment of vulnerable Afghans after Taliban forces intensified surveillance and carried out a raid on a guesthouse in Kabul housing individuals who were previously promised admission to Germany. The incident has underscored the worsening human rights situation in Afghanistan and highlighted the grave risks faced by those targeted by the Taliban regime.
According to informed sources, the guesthouse located in central Kabul and accommodating approximately 80 people has been under continuous Taliban surveillance for the past four days. During this period, residents have reportedly been subjected to repeated interrogations by Taliban members. Those housed at the facility include former local staff of the German government, judges, journalists, human rights and women’s rights activists, as well as LGBTQ individuals groups widely recognized as being at heightened risk under Taliban rule.
The residents were deported to Afghanistan around two months ago after their Pakistani visas expired, despite holding formal German admission pledges. Upon their return, they were placed in the Kabul guesthouse, with accommodation costs reportedly covered by the German government.
Sources state that Taliban interrogators questioned residents extensively about their personal backgrounds, the duration and purpose of their stay in Pakistan, the timing of their return to Afghanistan, their reasons for seeking relocation to Germany, and the source of funding for their accommodation. During the operation, residents were allegedly prohibited from contacting anyone outside the guesthouse, while even internal meetings among occupants were banned. Taliban members reportedly maintained a constant presence inside the building, converting one room into a makeshift interrogation office.
The situation escalated earlier this week when Taliban forces reportedly surrounded the guesthouse with 13 vehicles before entering the premises. During the raid, families were filmed while being questioned, and personal computers were confiscated actions that have raised serious concerns about intimidation, surveillance, and potential misuse of personal data.
Most alarmingly, sources report that four residents, including two LGBTQ individuals, went missing following the raid. No information has been provided by Taliban authorities regarding their whereabouts, intensifying fears for their safety amid Afghanistan’s well-documented record of persecution against minorities and dissenting voices.
In a related development, several Afghans holding German admission pledges in Pakistan including a family of seven scheduled for transfer from Islamabad to Kabul were reportedly returned at the last moment to a guesthouse at Islamabad airport following intervention by the German government. German media outlets have since reported a sharp deterioration in the security situation for Afghans with German admission commitments in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The situation places Germany under mounting pressure as its current leadership seeks to reduce migration flows while simultaneously grappling with relocation commitments made by a previous government. Human rights organizations and activists have strongly criticized Berlin, accusing it of leaving at-risk Afghans trapped in legal and political limbo and exposing them to severe danger, persecution, or even death under Taliban rule.
The raid and subsequent disappearances have once again highlighted the oppressive environment in Afghanistan, where the Taliban continue to suppress basic freedoms, target vulnerable communities, and rule through fear and coercion. Observers warn that without urgent international intervention and accountability, Afghans promised protection abroad may remain exposed to grave human rights violations with potentially irreversible consequences.
