Afghanistan Peace CampaignBy Riham Alkousaa
Reuters
BERLIN, Aug 26 (Reuters) – Germany is set to lift its months-long ban on the entry of vulnerable Afghan nationals it had pledged to admit, a foreign ministry official said on Tuesday, after mounting legal pressure at home and a deportation push by Pakistan.
Around 2,000 Afghans approved for relocation to Germany under a programme for those deemed at risk under Taliban rule have been stranded in neighbouring Pakistan for months, after Berlin froze the scheme amid a pledge to curb migration.
“In Pakistan, individuals are at different stages of the departure process. The various verification procedures are currently resuming,” the official said. “Personnel from the competent authorities are on the ground in Pakistan to continue the admission procedures.”
The decision comes following several lawsuits by groups and dozens of affected Afghans challenging the freeze.
The interior ministry, which had put the programme on hold in the first place and was blocking its resumption, said Afghan nationals who were promised admission under earlier programs were undergoing individual case reviews.
“Afghans for whom the Federal Republic of Germany has been legally obliged by binding court decisions to issue visas and allow entry will gradually be admitted to Germany,” a ministry official said.
Only Afghans with binding admission approvals will be allowed in after security checks, the official said, noting that numbers were unclear and exit permits from Pakistan would still be required.
Matthias Lehnert, a lawyer representing Afghans who had challenged the suspension, told Reuters he had informed the affected families of the news and that they were “overjoyed”.
“These are all proceedings that were enforced through the courts. In that sense, the federal government is doing the absolute minimum,” Lehnert added.
URGENCY
The sense of urgency has increased as Pakistan moves to expel Afghan refugees ahead of a September 1 deadline, including those in Germany’s relocation programme.
Lehnert, who won four cases against the government, said the courts had ruled in principle that people could rely on Berlin’s admission commitments and were at serious risk of deportation to Afghanistan if not flown to Germany.
“That’s why it’s really scandalous that the government isn’t acting in all the other cases and continues to drag things out.”
Families with court rulings will be flying out of Pakistan soon but the details have not yet been disclosed, said Eva Beyer, media and advocacy officer for aid organisation Kabul Luftbruecke (Kabul Air Bridge).
“Some of them have been waiting for many, many months, some even for years, to be able to leave (Pakistan),” she told Reuters, adding that the Afghans would be flown to Germany on regular commercial airlines, not charter flights.
Reporting by Riham Alkousaa Editing by Miranda Murray and Gareth Jones