Germany has signed a deal with Uzbekistan to enable the migration of skilled workers from the Central Asian nation to support the German economy and the return of some immigrants, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.

"We are enabling the necessary immigration of workers with great talent that we need in Germany so that our economy can grow," Scholz said on Sunday after a meeting with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, Reuters reported.

The two countries also agreed on "simple, unbureaucratic procedures for those who have to go back," Scholz said, without elaborating.

He did not respond to media speculation that the agreement with Uzbekistan would also serve to deport Afghans who had committed crimes.

"Otherwise, of course, there are confidential talks about cooperation in many areas," he added.

Germany said on Aug. 30 it had resumed deportations of convicted criminals of Afghan nationality to their home country, days before regional elections in which migration was a campaign issue.

Berlin had stopped returning people to Afghanistan because of human rights concerns after the Islamic Emirate took power in 2021.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, who accompanied Scholz and who signed the agreement in Samarkand, said she was planning further flights to Afghanistan in order to deport serious offenders of Afghan nationality, Reuters reported.

"But we will see with which countries we do this in cooperation," Faeser said.

The German government has no direct relations with the Taliban government in Afghanistan and the first deportation flight in August was mediated by Qatar.

Pakistan's former special representative for Afghanistan, Asif Durrani, has said that if Afghanistan is kept in isolation, terrorist groups will grow again in the country.

Durrani in an interview with Ambassadors’ Lounge stated that Afghanistan has been forgotten about with the crisis in Ukraine and the killings in Palestine.

“If there is no Al-Qaeda, the ISIS-K will come. The incident may not be at the level of the 9/11 attacks, but devastation will occur, there will be threat. People in other parts of the world will feel insecure,” he said.

He added that if the engagement with Afghanistan cannot be done at the international level, there should be at least regional engagement.

Durrani also criticized the policies on women in Afghanistan, suggesting that it is an obstacle for the recognition of the Islamic Emirate.

Acting Minister of Interior Affairs Sirajuddin Haqqani on Saturday said the country’s air force was the main defender of Afghanistan and emphasized the need to increase capacity and better equip the military unit.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony of three pilots from the Air Force and Air Defense University, Haqqani also said soon the Islamic Emirate will prove to the world that it is self-reliant in various fields.

“Our air forces are the main defenders of the homeland... Today, if the world condemns us for not having air and ground defense and we do not have the capacity, it will be proven [otherwise] in practice and you have shown it today. We consider three people equal to 3,000 people, and Allah willing, we will be self-sufficient in a short time,” Haqqani said.

The Chief of Army Staff Fasihuddin Fitrat also delivered a speech at the graduation and strongly criticized the United States’ decision to leave Afghan military planes in neighboring countries - that were flown there during the fall of the republic government.

Fitrat, however, reiterated that the doors of the Islamic Emirate remain open to security forces of the former government.

“If our youths left Afghanistan and fled and now live in foreign countries, even if they have prosperity and comfort, but in those countries, their religion does not match. If they are really Muslims, they will feel guilty. So, the arms of the Islamic Emirate are open to all of them, they should return,” Fitrat said.

The official warned that those who seek to undermine the security situation of the country on the orders of foreigners will receive a harsh response from the security and defense forces.

“The government that is currently ruling in Afghanistan is independent and controls the entire territory of Afghanistan and is completely independent, and if someone wants to disrupt the security here, even though he is an Afghan, even though he is part of our body, we will cut it so that the people can be in full peace and prosperity,” he said.

In addition to the three pilots who graduated this week, another 120 candidates were recruited recently to the Air Force University after passing the pilot training entrance examination. They will study for four years before graduating.