Germany has relocated a further 141 Afghan refugees from Pakistan, nearly four years after the fall of Kabul, as part of efforts to complete long-delayed admissions promised by a previous government.
Germany’s Interior Ministry said the refugees arrived on Monday on a charter flight from Islamabad to the northern city of Hanover. The transfer is part of an accelerated process to relocate Afghans stranded in Pakistan who had received formal admission pledges from Berlin.
German media reported that the flight was organised by the federal government and included 123 people from Germany’s so-called human rights list, as well as 18 former local employees of German institutions or their family members.
After arriving in Hanover, the refugees are expected to be resettled across several German states.
According to available information, at least 45 former local employees and 246 Afghans deemed at risk because of their human rights or media work remain in Pakistan awaiting relocation.
Pakistan has given Germany until the end of the calendar year, eight days from now, to remove all Afghan refugees holding German admission pledges. Pakistani authorities have warned that those who remain could face deportation to Afghanistan.
Germany’s interior minister said the relocation process would be completed within the deadline, but acknowledged that the review of some cases and the transfer of certain individuals could be delayed until next year.
After the Taliban seized power in August 2021, Germany launched special programmes to evacuate Afghan local staff, activists and journalists. However, domestic political opposition to migration has since intensified. The Merz government, which came to power pledging to reduce refugee numbers, began implementing the transfer of Afghans with admission pledges after significant delays.
The government has said it will honour commitments made by the previous administration but has indicated it has no plans to relocate hundreds of other Afghan refugees who have been waiting for months to move to Western countries.
