Pakistan, Oct. 20 -- The European Union has begun initial contact with the Taliban government to discuss the return of Afghan migrants whose asylum requests have been rejected. This marks the first technical-level engagement between the EU and Afghanistan's de facto authorities for deportation purposes. The announcement was made during a press briefing in Brussels by EU Commission spokesperson Markus Lammer.

He confirmed that the talks started earlier this year at the request of several EU member states. The goal is to make progress on deporting Afghan nationals from Europe, particularly those staying illegally. According to Lammer, discussions are still at an early stage and focused on technical cooperation rather than formal diplomatic...