The visas were confirmed to EUobserver by Audrey Jacquiez, a spokesperson for Belgium’s deputy prime minister, News.Az reports, citing EU Observer.
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“The five requested visas were granted late Monday afternoon after a security assessment,” she said. The visas will be valid for one day only and limited to Belgium only.
Belgium’s State Security Service approved the applications after determining that the Taliban delegation did not pose a threat.
“It was deemed preferable not to disclose the date of their arrival for reasons of security and public order,” she added.
Jacquiez had earlier the same day told EUobserver that the five visas were requested last week would be valid for an “extremely short” time. Asked if this meant several days, she said “not even”.
“The visa application has been submitted. It hasn’t been granted yet, but it’s imminent,” she added, in a follow up call. Those visa are now granted.
The commission has been courting the Taliban for months, dispatching the deputy head of its home affairs department, Johannes Luchner, to Kabul in January.
Luchner said that while the intent is to return criminals, he also inferred that others could follow.
