Another group of Afghans has landed in Germany from Islamabad. Most were selected via the federal admissions program, which allows people deemed particularly at risk under the Taliban regime to move to Germany.
A flight chartered by the German government landed in Berlin, Germany, from Islamabad, Pakistan, on Wednesday (March 5) with 132 Afghans on board. The group included people selected via various admissions programs, as well as their relatives. Most had been deemed eligible for resettlement in Germany because they are particularly at risk in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan because of their work, identity, or beliefs. This includes women’s rights or queer activists, for example.
One person–who was accompanied by five family members--was selected through the 'local workforce program' -- meaning they had worked for German troops or organizations in Afghanistan, according to news agency AFP.
The majority of people on the flight (72 persons) were female, and 57 passengers were younger than 18 years old.
25 Afghans blocked from joining flight
Another 25 Afghans were originally supposed to be on the plane, but were unable to join the flight.
German federal police had spotted discrepancies in their identity documents before the flight, the German interior ministry told InfoMigrants. "This will be further reviewed," a spokesperson said.
Due to strict security checks, people may be struck from the list for a resettlement flight to Germany at the last minute if questions about their documents cannot be answered in time before take off, the ministry said.
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Second resettlement flight since German elections
The flight was the second such flight to land in Berlin within two weeks – another flight with 155 people on board had landed last Tuesday (February 25), two days after the federal elections in Germany.
The conservatives won the largest share of seats in the German main parliament and are expected to soon form a coalition government with the Social Democrats. Several conservative politicians recently called for Germany to stop resettlement flights for Afghans. Many expect the next government to be less willing to take in Afghans in exile than the outgoing center-left government that includes the Green party.
(with AFP, KNA, dpa, epd)
We updated this article to include statements from the interior ministry about why 25 people were not allowed to board the flight.