Despite a surge of lawsuits filed by Afghans in German courts and the Taliban’s tightening of penalties against critics, the German federal government says it will not abandon its revoked admission offers to former local employees and opposition figures.
The “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” reports that the Interior Ministry’s response to a question from the Bundestag’s left‑wing caucus confirms that no change to the existing practice is intended. According to the ministry, 501 lawsuits are now pending against admission offers that have been revoked by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).
“This is shameful that hundreds of Afghans seeking help from Pakistan must turn to German administrative courts to enforce the government’s promise” said Clara Bünger, the Left party’s spokesperson on asylum policy. She added that many of the affected individuals have already succeeded in court, but that “when it comes to keeping one’s word, the government cannot leave the decision in the hands of the judiciary”. All original admission pledges must therefore be implemented swiftly and without unnecessary bureaucracy.
Bünger also cited the new criminal laws enacted by the Taliban, which introduce the death penalty for deviations from the regime’s interpretation of Islam and punish opposition. “For politically active oppositionists, this new law poses a serious danger” she warned. “I can’t believe the government would hand over people who were promised entry to the Taliban for slaughter”.
More recently, it emerged that almost half of the 2,308 Afghans residing in Pakistan cannot return to Germany because their admission offers made during the coalition government have been revoked. The coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD had called for ending voluntary admissions as much as possible.