The Federal Ministry of the Interior has announced the arrival of 138 refugees from Afghanistan, including 76 women, 62 men, and 45 children and youth. According to the ministry, all individuals had received a legally binding promise of admission to Germany.
“There are concrete commitments from Germany to accept these refugees, which were made in the past,” a ministry spokesperson said. “No new commitments will be made for reasons of internal security. Each individual will be thoroughly vetted before being granted entry.”
This flight is part of the German government’s ongoing efforts to address the situation of Afghan refugees stranded in Pakistan. Since the beginning of 2025, four flights have brought a total of 461 people from the region to Germany. However, around 2,600 vulnerable Afghans remain in Pakistan, awaiting relocation. Among them are former employees of German institutions and the German military in Afghanistan, as well as their families. Others include individuals persecuted by the Taliban regime for their advocacy of human rights, such as journalists and lawyers.
Alexander Throm, a politician from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), criticized what he described as Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s attempt to impose policy decisions on the incoming federal government. Jens Spahn, deputy leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, echoed the criticism, telling dpa: “Every plane from Afghanistan is a stronger support program for the AfD than any committee chairmanship could ever be.”
The former President of the Bundestag believes that Germany has a duty to help those who risked their lives for the country. Konstantin von Notz from the Green Party agreed with that, saying: “We are talking about people who have undergone extremely thorough security checks by multiple German authorities and have a legal right to be admitted by Germany. Suppressing the admission program means knowingly violating obligations and throwing humanity overboard.”
According to the support network for Afghan staff who worked with Germany until the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan, there are 500 local employees in Pakistan who previously worked with the German military. They are at risk of deportation, as Pakistan began large-scale deportation operations in March aimed at eventually expelling 3 million Afghans — including those awaiting relocation to Europe. In addition, 100 other staff members remain in Afghanistan and are at risk under Taliban rule.
