Germany reviewing fate of Afghans stranded in Pakistan amid mass deportations

Germany is assessing whether Afghans stranded in Pakistan and awaiting resettlement will still be permitted to enter the country, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Thursday as Islamabad steps up deportations.

Pakistan has begun expelling documented Afghan refugees ahead of its September 1 deadline for their departure, the United Nations said, a move that could force more than one million Afghans out of the country.

The group includes over 2,000 Afghans approved for relocation to Germany under an admission programme aimed at evacuating individuals deemed at risk under Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

A source familiar with the situation told Reuters that Pakistani authorities have continued detaining Afghans for deportation across the border, even during the country’s Independence Day holiday on Thursday.

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”People with German admission approval are being brought to the Torkham border (between Pakistan and Afghanistan) as we speak,” the source told Reuters.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt confirmed that some Afghans in Germany’s resettlement scheme ”have recently drawn the attention of Pakistani authorities”, and Berlin was in discussions with Islamabad over their status.

”We are reviewing whether these people can actually leave for Germany. Whether this actually happens depends on the outcome of the review process,” Dobrindt told journalists.

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Germany’s admission programme for at-risk Afghans – launched in October 2022 by the centre-left government in office at the time – is now under review following February’s migration-focused election won by conservatives.

The new centre-right coalition intends to close the scheme, which had already been suspended pending an ongoing review.

Since May 2021, Germany has admitted about 36,500 Afghans seen as vulnerable to Taliban crackdowns, but the conservative-led government says humanitarian migration now exceeds the country’s integration capacity.

On Wednesday, Germany’s foreign ministry said it was in close contact with Pakistani authorities and using established emergency mechanisms to prevent deportations of Afghans.

The interior ministry said it could not provide a timeline to determine the future of the admission programme but expects decisions soon. It did not say whether the increase in deportations from Pakistan would hasten a decision.

With inputs from agencies