Germany Asks Pakistan for a Safe Return of the Deported Afghans

BERLIN: On Monday, German Spokesperson Joseph Hinterseher told reporters that Pakistan is now deporting Afghans seeking German visas while staying in Pakistan. He said the German government is requesting the Pakistan government to bring back the deported Afghans and allow them a temporary stay to these Afghans in Pakistan, seeking German visas.

Fate of Deported Afghans:

Under the threat of the new Taliban regime in Afghanistan, many Afghans left the country and took refuge in the nearby countries. Among these Afghans are mostly journalists and human rights activists.

In 2021, Germany initiated a programme after the Taliban took control of the country. Under the former Chancellor Olaf Scholz, GProgramme put on hold:ermany has started the programme to help those Afghans who have worked for the German institutions and their families to get out of the Taliban- governed country.

These refugees are now seeking shelter in Germany. The German Spokesperson told the reporters that under this programme, 450 Afghans were selected to be given German visas. He also said that out of these 450 refugees, 211 Afghans have been deported back to Afghanistan by the Pakistani government.

He said, “211 peo­ple, according to our current information, have been deported to Afgha­nistan.” He also added that the Pakistani government now threatens the rest of the Afghan refugees to leave their camps in Pakistan, otherwise they will be arrested.

He said, “245 people were allowed to leave camps in Pakistan where they had been gathered prior to their scheduled deportation. We are continuing to talk to Pakistan to facilitate the return of those who have already been deported.”

Programme put on hold:

Two German rights groups criticised and launched legal proceedings against those who failed to assist the Afghan people seeking German visas. Merz took the oath in May. After he took office, he brought new Immigration policies that are quite stricter than the previous ones

Due to this, the last programme to assist Afghan refugees has been put on hold. It left almost 2000 Afghan to stay in Pakistan till the resumption of the programme.

Eva Beyer from the Airbridge Kabul said, “Visa procedures have been frozen since May; nothing’s been happening since then.” The German government, however, says that the matter is still under review. The Interior Ministry cleared that the individual screening of the Afghans under this programme has started due to security reasons.