Dozens of organizations have signed a letter calling on the German government to take swift action to protect hundreds of Afghan nationals in Pakistan who might be at risk of being deported back to their home country, despite assurances that they will be taken in by Germany. The move comes as bureaucratic and vetting procedures involved in issuing visas to Germany are taking longer than intended.
The letter in support of at-risk Afghans in Pakistan was signed by Amnesty International Germany, the German Caritas Association, Reporters Without Borders, Medico International and other rights and migrant support groups, and is specifically addressed to German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt.
The initiative, originally launched by the German Bar Association (DAV), comes after the number of Afghan asylum seekers being deported from Pakistan to Afghanistan has risen dramatically in recent months.
Many Afghans who have been promised admission to Germany -- chiefly on account of helping German forces on the ground during the 20-year occupation of the country -- are currently having to wait their turn amid growing uncertainty in neighboring Pakistan.
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Calls for immediate evacuations
The signatories to the letter are specifically demanding fast background checks and other security-related evaluations to speed up visa procedures, as well as the immediate evacuation of Afghans from Pakistan who have already been issued their relevant visas and permits but have not been taken to Germany yet.
Germany must coordinate more closely with Pakistan, its international partners, and civil society groups "to prevent deportations and detention pending deportation," the letter states.
"Germany bears a special responsibility toward the people who trusted us and whose commitment to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law has now made them targets in Afghanistan."
The letter comes after a number of rights groups also sued Germany's foreign and interior minister last week in a related development.
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Dobrindt to 'deal with' admissions only on his terms
Those demands, however, seem to fall on deaf ears with German Interior Minister Dobrindt, who seeks to apply a more thorough -- and presumably therefore more time-consuming -- vetting process.
On the weekend, Dobrindt said that he was not "prepared to forego regular admission procedures … [and] security checks."
"I will deal with it, but I will only do so in a way that ensures maximum security, that we know who is coming, why they are coming, and whether their admission is justified. And if it is not justified, then I will not support their admission," the interior minister stressed.
Dobrindt's rejection of expediting these entries to Germany comes amid overall government plans to halt all humanitarian admissions programs to Germany "as far as is possible," according to the new government's coalition agreement from May.
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Hundreds of Afghans increasingly at risk
Following the violent takeover of Afghanistan by the militant Islamist Taliban four years ago, the German government pledged to take in people who were especially at risk of retaliation and repercussions by the country's new rulers.
These include local staff who worked at German government and military facilities as well as human rights activists, members of the LGBTQ community, and journalists.
At this point, there are around 2,300 Afghans in Pakistan still waiting to be taken in under what is considered to be a legally binding pledge, issued by the previous German government. The majority of them -- about 70 percent -- are believed to be women and children.
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However several days ago, reports started surfacing saying that about 450 Afghans who were earmarked to eventually be taken to Germany had been detained by the Pakistani government for later deportation to Afghanistan; 245 were later released from these deportation camps following proactive mediation efforts by the German government.
The letter states that "Pakistani authorities have already begun detaining Afghan nationals who have been granted asylum in Germany -- including children -- and even deporting them back to Afghanistan."
According to the Foreign Office, Pakistan has already deported at least 210 Afghans who were going to be taken to Germany under the initiative.
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with AFP, KNA, EPD