The German government has offered cash payments to Afghan nationals stranded in Pakistan if they give up efforts to immigrate to Germany under a resettlement programme established for vulnerable groups, including those who once worked with German forces in Afghanistan.
About 2,000 Afghans have been approved for relocation to Germany under the programme for people at risk under Taliban rule, but have been stranded in Pakistan for months or even years awaiting resettlement.
Germany’s conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz suspended the programme in May in a bid to show his administration’s seriousness about tackling migration, a major concern for German voters at a time when the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) tops several opinion polls.
“It is logical that if we assume that people have no possibility of being admitted to Germany, we offer them some perspective, and this is linked to making a financial offer for a voluntary return to Afghanistan or another third country,” German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Wednesday.
“These offers have been made to these people in recent days,” Dobrindt said, without revealing how much money was involved or the number of people being excluded from entry.
Afghan nationals who already hold binding approval to enter Germany under the suspended programme will still be allowed to enter the country – subject to security checks – but others will not, the minister added.
Credit: aljazeera.com
