Despite the advance of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) is sticking to deportations to the country. "We are currently negotiating with Afghanistan so that we can continue to deport criminals there," he told the newspaper "Bild am Sonntag". "How can you answer for the fact that criminals can no longer be returned to their home country?" Seehofer also mentioned possibilities to "increase voluntary departure". If a detainee gets some part of his sentence waived, he may leave voluntarily, said the interior minister. "We are in talks with all federal states, because they are responsible for deportations," he added.

The FDP chairman Christian Lindner also spoke out against a general ban on deportation to Afghanistan.

"Threateners and criminals must not feel safe with us, they have to be deported from Germany to their home country," said Lindner of the German press agency.

He reacted to a statement by the Green co-chairman Robert Habeck, who had called for a ban on deportation to Afghanistan in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung” (FAS).

The federal government continues to pretend that "nothing has happened" in Afghanistan, Habeck told the FAS with a view to assessing the situation by the Foreign Office in July.

These would have to be revised and deportations suspended, he demanded.

"No false signal of smuggling crime"

"The motives of the Greens may be noble, but Mr. Habeck has not thought through the practical consequences for our country," said Lindner.

"In view of the sensitive situation in Afghanistan, such statements must not send the wrong signal to the people smuggling."

Instead, the federal government is urged to avoid mistakes like the one in Syria.

Massive aid is needed in the neighboring countries of Afghanistan in order to organize aid for refugees there and prevent them from moving to Germany.

Lindner called on Chancellor Angela Merkel to take action.

"Ms. Merkel remains in office and shouldn't miss the chance to prevent the situation from escalating like in 2015," said Lindner.

Seehofer announced that it would again significantly increase the number of deportations after the end of the corona pandemic.

“The Corona time was not the time for deportations.

Every country in the world is afraid of imported infections, ”said the CSU politician of“ Bild am Sonntag ”.

"We will increase that again significantly after Corona".

Meanwhile, the Taliban continued their military offensives in several provinces, the Afghan government forces continued.

On Sunday night, Kandahar airport, the country's second largest city, was attacked with several rockets.

The fighting also continued in the provinces of Herat in the west and Helmand in the south.

After conquering large rural parts of Afghanistan, the Taliban are moving ever closer to important provincial capitals.

Taliban attack Kandahar airport

The runway of Kandahar airport was hit by two rockets, airport chief Massoud Pashtun told the AFP news agency. All flights departing from the city have been canceled. Repair work is in progress and flight operations can be expected to resume on Sunday. Kandahar Airport plays an essential role in the city's defense against the Taliban.

Since the beginning of the full withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban have conquered large parts of the country. On Saturday, government forces fighter jets launched an air raid on a small hospital in the southern city of Laschkar Gah in Helmand province. According to official information, the hospital had previously been captured by the Taliban. According to a government official, one person was killed and two others injured in the attacks. The hospital was destroyed.