"The Afghans were accepted under a refugee scheme set up by the previous German government which was frozen after conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office in May. Since then around 2,000 Afghans have been stuck in Pakistan, where they have been threatened with deportation back to Afghanistan. Some of those affected have mounted successful legal challenges against the German government, forcing the authorities to allow them entry."
"A foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday that none of them has as yet been able to return to Pakistan. The German scheme was aimed at Afghans who had worked with German forces in Afghanistan or who were deemed at particular risk from the Taliban, for example journalists, lawyers and human rights activists. Since Merz's conservative-led coalition government took power in May, it has put the process on ice as part of a wider push to toughen immigration policy."
Twenty-eight Afghans arrived in Germany after winning court challenges that allowed entry under a previously established refugee scheme. The group of five men, ten women and 13 children flew from Islamabad to Hanover. Around 2,000 Afghans remain stuck in Pakistan and have faced threats of deportation. About 250 Afghans who had been waiting to go to Germany were recently deported from Pakistan and have not yet returned. The scheme targeted Afghans who worked with German forces or those at particular risk from the Taliban, including journalists, lawyers and human rights activists. The incoming conservative-led government froze the process in May as part of a push to tighten immigration policy.
Read at The Local Germany
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