For the third time since Germany's change of government, a group of Afghans approved for resettlement has flown from Pakistan to Germany, reported dpa.
The group is travelling on a commercial flight with a stopover in Istanbul before heading to Germany, according to a dpa journalist at Islamabad airport.
Previous groups of Afghans eligible under German admission schemes for particularly vulnerable people were flown to Hanover and later distributed across the country.
Germany's Interior Ministry has repeatedly stressed that all Afghans with entry approval undergo full screening and security checks before entering the country.
Many Afghan families have been stranded in Islamabad for months or years, waiting for their chance to leave. Germany's conservative-led coalition government suspended a resettlement programme for particularly vulnerable Afghans in May.
The scheme had covered former local staff of German institutions, their relatives and others fearing persecution by the Taliban, such as lawyers and journalists.
Some Afghans are still being granted visas despite the suspension, after successfully suing in German courts to enforce their right to entry. Several of the cases are supported by the aid group Kabul Airlift.
According to the German government, around 1,910 Afghans with approved admission or declarations of acceptance remain in Pakistan.
These include about 220 former local staff and relatives, 60 people on a human rights protection list, 600 under a temporary bridging programme and roughly 1,030 under the broader federal admission scheme for Afghanistan.
In its coalition agreement, the German government pledged to end voluntary federal admission programmes such as those for Afghanistan and not to introduce new ones.
- Afghans
- Germany
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
