Germany’s Foreign Ministry is in contact with Pakistani authorities to stop the deportation of Afghans who have been accepted into Germany’s special admission programs. The Pakistani immigration authorities had arrested 450 out of 2,000 Afghans waiting to receive visas to enter Germany.
According to the German Foreign Ministry, Pakistan deported 211 vulnerable Afghans who had been accepted into Germany’s admission program back to Afghanistan. A ministry spokesman also confirmed that Pakistani authorities had arrested 450 Afghans who had previously applied for asylum in Germany, in preparation for their deportation to their country of origin. The ministry is in contact with the detainees through a service provider.
According to the Foreign Ministry spokesman, the German Embassy in Pakistan has secured the release of 245 detainees and is working to assist 211 Afghans who had been deported to Afghanistan in returning to Pakistan. Around 2,000 Afghan asylum seekers to Germany are currently undergoing screening in Pakistan before being granted visas under one of Germany’s admission programs for Afghans, launched after the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan.
Roughly 2,300 Afghan asylum seekers in Pakistan have received binding admission commitments from the German government. Currently, around 1,700 women and children are waiting to travel to Germany. Some Afghan asylum seekers have turned to the Administrative Court in Berlin, which has issued several rulings requiring the government to grant entry visas to Afghans stranded in Pakistan.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has pledged to help Afghans stranded in Pakistan while waiting to travel to Germany. According to Wadephul, the federal government is holding high-level talks with the Pakistani authorities to ensure their protection and to provide urgent assistance to those recently deported or detained.
The crisis of Afghans stranded in Pakistan has escalated since the arrival of Germany’s new government (the Black-Red coalition), which has adopted an anti-immigration policy. The government has introduced several measures aimed at curbing migration to Germany, and the coalition agreement included ending voluntary admission programs. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt is reviewing each case individually to determine the legal obligation for admission, a process that is delaying decisions on the applications of Afghan nationals.
