Most Afghans stranded in Pakistan who hold German admission pledges have rejected the government’s controversial offer to forgo their right to relocation in exchange for money. Of roughly 700 people contacted, only 167 had accepted the offer by the end of the year, while 357 declined; the remainder have not yet decided. This comes from a response by the Federal Interior Ministry to an inquiry by Green Party MP Schahina Gambir, reported by the Süddeutsche Zeitung on Thursday.
Depending on the case, several thousand euros were to be paid to those who voluntarily withdrew from the admission programs that the government intends to discontinue. By accepting the payment, individuals had to confirm that they were giving up their promised resettlement in Germany.
On Sunday, officials of the radical Islamist Taliban government searched a so-called “safe house” in Kabul where 79 people with German admission pledges had been staying. The opposition is now urging Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) and Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) to rethink their approach.
Following the raid, they must “not continue to hold on to their conviction that there is no longer any political interest in taking in people from the bridging program or from the human rights list,” Schahina Gambir told the Süddeutsche. She said those affected are in acute danger and must be evacuated from Kabul immediately.
After the Taliban seized power in August 2021, the German government issued admission commitments to people who had worked for the Bundeswehr or other institutions in Afghanistan. Promises were also made to individuals considered particularly at risk, such as women’s rights advocates and human rights activists. Following the change of government in Berlin, the new administration sharply restricted admissions. Since many affected individuals had already fled Afghanistan for Pakistan, they are now stuck there.
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