Arrests and deportations of Afghans with a German admission promise around the anniversary of the takeover
Current status – what has happened?
- Between Tuesday and Friday, at least 450 Afghan asylum seekers with a German admission promise were arrested from GIZ accommodations in Islamabad
- According to the Foreign Office, 211 people were deported to Afghanistan following the government press conference
- Also according to the Foreign Office, around 245 people were released from the Haji deportation camp on Sunday and are now in GIZ accommodations in Peshawar
- In Peshawar, a total of 300–400 people are in GIZ accommodation. All of these individuals have already been registered in the Haji Camp. If the Pakistani government extends deportations/arrests to Peshawar, these people could be deported directly without further stay in the camp, significantly limiting the embassy’s ability to intervene
- The Pakistani government has already announced that deportations and arrests, which so far have been limited to the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), will be extended nationwide starting September 1
- Currently, arrests from GIZ accommodations are suspended, but likely only until early/mid-September; the situation thereafter is unclear
- We have received reports of violent assaults against asylum seekers by Pakistani authorities. Women report that they and their children were beaten, sometimes with sticks and clubs
How are the deported people doing in Afghanistan?
- People were deported without their passports, as these are still held at the German embassy.
- On the Afghan side, the German government is still attempting to place people collectively in safe houses
- Of the original roughly 2,300 waiting with a German admission promise, the majority are women and children
- This includes many women traveling alone without a Mahram
- Since people had no time to pack or were not allowed to take their belongings before arrest, many women do not have the clothing required in Afghanistan and would be immediately arrested if they had to appear in public without a hijab – therefore, they cannot leave the accommodation. This also means they have no access to hygiene products
- Since families were separated, there are minors/girls in Afghanistan without their parents. They are particularly vulnerable and need to be brought back to Pakistan as quickly as possible
People involved in legal proceedings
- According to our knowledge, there are now 20 positive emergency legal protection rulings from the Berlin Administrative Court, confirming that firstly, the admission promises are legally binding, and secondly, urgent action must be taken
- Families affected by the arrests are also covered by positive emergency rulings
- This situation is the responsibility of the German government, which, despite verbal assurances in the Bundestag and court decisions, is not willing to issue the promised visas to Afghan asylum seekers
- Instead of enabling a quick departure, the German government argued last week in ongoing cases that there is no danger and that people do not need to fear deportation
- In many cases, the government appealed the positive emergency rulings of the Berlin Administrative Court before the Higher Administrative Court but has now withdrawn some due to obvious futility
- However, the pending appeal processes have caused people to lose additional time
What happens next?
- The German government has so far not stated how it plans to use the time until the Pakistani authorities’ deadline to organize visa processes and, if necessary, departures for people with admission promises. There are also no statements on how the safety of these people will be ensured and how they will be protected from nationwide deportations starting September 1
- There is a concern that many admission promises will be revoked in the coming days – for promises under §22, this can be done with the approval of the respective ministries (BMVG/BMZ for local staff; AA for human rights list and bridging program) without formal procedures – this affects nearly half of the waiting individuals
- The distribution across programs (as of 28.05) is as follows: 320 people from the local staff procedure (OKV), about 70 people from the human rights list (MRL), 770 people from the bridging program (ÜBP), and nearly 1,250 people from the Federal Admission Program (BAP)
- In the formal revocation process of the Federal Admission Program, the government reduced the period for appealing against the withdrawal of the admission promise for asylum seekers from four to two weeks (the minimum)
- Contracts of GIZ, responsible for accommodations in Pakistan, expire on September 30 – an extension has not yet been confirmed
- Given the acute danger facing the asylum seekers, a criminal complaint against the German government was filed on Friday. This is based on the legal opinion by the law firm 8KM from July 8, 2025, commissioned by Pro Asyl and the Local Staff Sponsorship Network
Contacts for inquiries
Please direct your questions to:
- Matthias Lehnert, Lawyer, lehnert@aufenthaltsrecht.net
- Eva Beyer, NGO Kabul Luftbrücke; press@kabulluftbruecke.de
