Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told the RND media network that Berlin wants to finish processing the cases “in December, as far as possible” to allow them to enter Germany.
The Afghans were accepted under a refugee program set up by the previous German government, but have been blocked in Pakistan since conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office in May and froze the program.
Those included in the program either worked with the German armed forces in Afghanistan during the war against the Taliban or were judged to be particularly vulnerable by the Taliban after their return to power in 2021 – for example, human rights activists and journalists, as well as their families.
Pakistan has set a deadline of the end of the year to resolve the cases of the Afghans, after which they would be deported back to their homeland.
Dobrindt said “we are in contact with the Pakistani authorities about this,” adding that “there may be several cases that we will have to work on in the new year.”
Last week, the Ministry of the Interior announced that it had informed 650 people in the program that they would not be accepted, because the new government believes that it is no longer in the “interest” of Germany.
The government offered those still in Pakistan money to drop their claim to settle in Germany, but by mid-November only 62 people had accepted the offer.
Earlier this month, more than 250 organizations in Germany, including Amnesty International, Save the Children and Human Rights Watch, said around 1,800 Afghans from the program were stranded in Pakistan and called on the government to let them in, AFP reports.
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
