BERLIN: More than 250 human rights organisations and civil society groups on Tuesday urged the German government to immediately evacuate hundreds of Afghans stranded in Pakistan who had previously been promised protection by Berlin.
The coalition — which includes Amnesty International, Save the Children, Human Rights Watch and a range of church groups — issued an open letter calling on Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government to bring roughly 1,800 Afghans to Germany before the end of the year. The groups warned that those awaiting relocation remain vulnerable to deportation back to Afghanistan unless they are moved “within weeks”.
Most of the stranded applicants are women and children who were approved under a refugee admissions scheme established by Germany’s previous government. However, since Mr Merz took office in May, his administration has frozen the programme, leaving the evacuees stuck in Pakistan. So far, around 350 have reached Germany after securing court orders compelling the government to honour their relocation.
The signatories to the letter said Germany had a moral and legal obligation to fulfil its commitment to the Afghans, many of whom had worked alongside German armed forces, or were journalists, activists or other groups at heightened risk under Taliban rule. “Especially now, during the Christmas season, we remember humanity and compassion,” the letter stated. “Therefore, we appeal to you: finally bring those to whom we have promised protection to safety.”
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The German government has said Islamabad has assured Berlin that those on the relocation list will not be deported before year-end — but officials acknowledged that the deadline “cannot be extended”, intensifying pressure to act quickly.
UNHCR data shows Afghan population exceeds 2.18m
Separately, data released on Tuesday by the UN refugee agency revealed that more than 2.18 million Afghans are currently residing in Pakistan. Of these, 1.22 million are registered, with only about 35 per cent of registered refugees living in designated refugee villages.
Those affected must be evacuated in the coming weeks to protect them from deportation back to Afghanistan, human rights groups said.https://t.co/cWTzXVwTF8
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) December 10, 2025
The UNHCR said 1.09 million Afghans hold Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, a figure that does not include nearly 139,000 unregistered individuals within registered families. The number of asylum seekers registered with the agency stands at 115,652, including 115,390 Afghans. The rest originate from Yemen, Iran, Somalia, Myanmar and Syria.
The UNHCR noted that asylum seeker statistics had been adjusted following a recent verification exercise.
