211 Afghans deported from Pakistan hoping for German visa

Pakistani authorities have deported 211 Afghan nationals in recent days who were waiting to travel on to Germany on a special admissions scheme, the German Foreign Office said on Monday, reported dpa.

Some 450 people who are hoping for permission to enter Germany as part of a programme for individuals particularly at risk of persecution under Afghanistan's Taliban regime were previously detained in Pakistan, a spokesman for the ministry said.

After the German embassy in Islamabad and the Foreign Office reached out to Pakistani authorities, 245 people were released from deportation facilities again, according to the spokesman.

The spokesman said accommodation for the 211 people who were deported has since been arranged in Afghanistan via a local third party provider, as talks with Pakistani authorities continue to enable them to return to Pakistan.

More than 2,000 Afghan nationals are currently waiting in Pakistan to be given permission to leave for Germany via special admissions schemes.

These are designed to protect those, for example, who used to work for German organizations before the Taliban took power in 2021 which puts them at particular risk of persecution by the Islamists.

German authorities have long faced criticism over the lengthy approval processes, with Pakistan, home to scores of Afghan refugees, having repeatedly detained individuals seeking German visas under the entry schemes over the past months amid a major push to deport Afghan migrants.