Man arrives in Afghanistan after travelling from Germany on motorbike

A man with dual nationality has arrived in Afghanistan after travelling for 12 days from Germany on his motorbike, local Afghan officials told dpa on Sunday.

The Afghan, who is believed to have a German passport, arrived in Afghanistan’s central Ghazni province on Saturday, two Taliban officials and three local elders confirmed.

The man on the motorbike identified himself as 'Zazai' and said he was originally a resident of Afghanistan's Paktia province, adding that he entered Afghanistan’s Herat province after passing through several countries, including Turkey and Iran, to attend a wedding ceremony.

He was stopped and welcomed by the Taliban at a security checkpoint, a spokesman for Ghazni's governor, Hafiz Omar, said.

The head of the Taliban’s sports department in the province, Bilal Mujahid, rushed to visit the biker and took souvenir photos with him.

“When we heard we went to meet him. He was in a hurry. He told me that he needs to get to Kabul to attend a wedding ceremony,” Mujahid said.

'Afghanistan is secure'

The local official added that the man had permits to enter Iran and other countries, but he had entered Afghanistan without informing Afghan officials.

“I asked him what his goal is. He said, 'I want to show the world that Afghanistan is secure and that before people were fleeing but now you can travel on a bike or a motorbike,'” Mujahid claimed.

Pictures obtained by dpa and also shared by a local media outlet show the man with his bike with several local Taliban officials and local Afghans.