Afghans with admission approval on their way to Germany

A plane chartered by the German government with Afghans on board is on its way from Islamabad to Germany. The passengers are people from various programs who have received a legally binding confirmation of admission, explained a spokesperson for the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. The plane is expected to arrive in Leipzig later today. According to the Ministry of the Interior of Lower Saxony, the passengers will initially be taken to the Friedland border transit camp and then distributed to the federal states after two weeks.

According to the Federal Foreign Office, around 2,600 particularly vulnerable people from Afghanistan are currently waiting in Pakistan to be admitted to Germany. In addition to former local staff of German institutions and their relatives, Afghans who fear persecution by the Islamist Taliban, for example because they have campaigned for human rights as lawyers or journalists in the past, are also to be admitted.

Union wants to stop voluntary federal admission programs

The coalition agreement between the CDU, CSU and SPD states: "We will end voluntary federal admission programs as far as possible (for example Afghanistan) and not set up any new programs." CDU/CSU politicians have reacted indignantly to the flights planned for April.

Deportations from Pakistan

Afghans who are still waiting to leave Islamabad as part of the various admission programs could soon come under considerable pressure. Pakistan began a new wave of deportations of Afghan refugees at the beginning of April and intends to deport three million Afghans in the long term. The Pakistani Minister of State for Interior, Talal Chaudhry, recently announced that the deportations from May would also affect Afghans waiting in Pakistan to leave for Western countries.

Afghans waiting in Islamabad are already reporting increasingly difficult conditions. Families often have to spend many months in the guest houses rented for the federal reception program, some even for well over a year. At the same time, the Pakistani authorities now insist on a monthly renewal of their visas. In order to pay the high fees on a regular basis, many families are getting into debt with relatives or have to sell their possessions in their home country, leaving them destitute in the event of a rejection.

When asked whether Afghans with a promise of admission from Germany were affected by the threat of deportation, the Federal Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are in close coordination and close contact with the Pakistani authorities and are working to help people who have a binding promise of admission."