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Former Afghan minister now delivering pizzas in Germany urges normalization with Taliban

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“A stable country is in the benefit of Afghanistan and also a benefit for the West,” Sayed Sadaat told Israel’s Kan News.

By Donna Rachel Edmunds, World Israel News

A former minister in the Afghan government who now delivers food as a bike courier in Germany has spoken out about corruption in the Allied-backed government under Ashraf Ghani, and has called on Western powers to now back the Taliban to preserve stability.

Sayed Sadaat served as minister of communications in Afghanistan from 2016 to 2018, but was driven out of his post after he refused to go along with the corruption he witnessed.

“When doing the job as a minister there was a difference between the president’s close circle and myself,” he told AFP. “Their demands were for private benefit, I wanted the money for government projects to be implemented properly. So I could not fulfill their demands and then they tried to push me, put pressure on me from the president’s side.”

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Sadaat initially took a job in the telecom sector, but fled the country as the security situation deteriorated. “In Afghanistan, as you can see, the security got worse and the government was not in a position to secure the previous government employees,” Sadaat told Israel’s Kan News in an interview broadcast Monday night.

A duel Afghani-British citizen, Sadaat opted to move to Germany in 2020 before Britain’s exit from the EU was finalized – ending the freedom of movement across Europe for British citizens – as he saw better opportunities in Germany.

However, the 50 year old has found it difficult to find work in Germany as he does not speak the language. “Here, to get a job, you have to have a basic level of German language,” he told Kan.

He is now studying German for four hours a day, and sustaining himself financially by delivering pizza and other orders in the evenings. “I like my current job, because as I’m new here I can explore Leipzig with my cycling,” Sadaat said, although he admits he would like to return to the telecoms industry as his German improves.

He added that he’d welcome the opportunity “to work for the German government in the Foreign Ministry as an adviser on the Afghanistan desk,” although so far he and the German authorities are not in contact on the matter.

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However, he said watching the situation unfold in Afghanistan over the last few weeks has been disturbing. “It is very sad to see my countrymen in a problem, in fear, and running and leaving their country,” he told Kan. “I hope the situation will come back to normal.”

His solution?

“I think there is no other option, the Western countries, the governments, they should support and talk to the Taliban and recognize them,” he said. “A stable country is in the benefit of Afghanistan and also a benefit for the West, because if there is a weaker government and an unstable Afghanistan, fanatic groups can go there.”