Karzai’s Covert Mediation for Taliban in Berlin

DIDPress: Hamid Karzai, former Afghanistani president, participated in a confidential meeting in Berlin as an authorized representative of the Taliban’s caretaker government, reported reliable German sources.

The closed-door talks took place in the diplomatic setting of the private China Club at the Hotel Adlon.

The German newspaper Bild revealed that August Hanning, former head of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND), and Manfred Stolpe, a prominent German urban planner, attended the meeting.

Hanning confirmed that “substantive and purposeful” discussions were held with Karzai regarding the repatriation of Afghanistani migrants from Germany, future strategic cooperation frameworks, and the Taliban government’s role in this process.

According to Hanning, although Karzai holds no official power since 2014, he retains key influence and direct connections with Afghanistan’s current rulers, possessing “the necessary authority to negotiate” on behalf of the Taliban.

The primary focus of the meeting was assessing the status of Afghanistani migrants in Germany and potential avenues for their return under Taliban governance. Discussions also touched upon prospects for political, economic, and security cooperation between the Taliban and Europe.

This meeting occurs amid Germany’s mounting political and social challenges concerning Afghanistani migrants, where any policy decisions carry significant domestic and international sensitivities.

Karzai’s emerging unofficial role—now spotlighted in Western media—highlights the growing complexity of diplomatic engagement with the Taliban caretaker government and the involvement of former Afghanistani political figures in regional geopolitics.