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Source: DW - Author: M.J. GDNUS
A German government charter flight carrying refugees from Afghanistan landed in Berlin on Wednesday (March 5), marking the second time within a week that a flight arrived.
Most of the Afghan evacuees were brought to Germany under a special government program designed to accept vulnerable individuals from Afghanistan. These individuals include local collaborators who worked for the Bundeswehr or other German institutions in Afghanistan, as well as human rights activists, journalists, and others facing persecution under the Taliban regime, along with their family members.
According to a spokesperson for the German Ministry of the Interior, the plane that took off from Islamabad, Pakistan, carried 132 passengers—72 women and 58 men. A total of 57 passengers were under 18 years old, including seven children under the age of two.
Among those arriving, one person who had worked for German institutions came with five family members. Additionally, 74 individuals were classified as particularly vulnerable, including 22 individuals and 52 of their family members.
Four people, along with 10 family members, arrived via the "human rights protection list," and 38 others were part of the "transitional program."
However, 25 people who were also supposed to be on the flight were not included last minute. The reason given was that "federal police pointed out possible discrepancies in their documents." These cases are now being reviewed by the relevant authorities.
**Another 3,000 Afghans Await Document Checks**
The previous special flight from Afghanistan, carrying 155 people, arrived in Berlin on Tuesday, February 25, two days after the early Bundestag elections. According to government data, more than half of these Afghans came to Germany through the special program for vulnerable individuals from Afghanistan.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, among the recent arrivals were five former collaborators with German institutions and their families.
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, around 48,000 approvals have been granted for the admission of vulnerable individuals. Of those, 35,800 have already entered Germany.
All the arriving Afghans are initially accommodated in reception centers in Brandenburg and Lower Saxony and then distributed across federal states according to the "Königsberg Key"—a mechanism also applied to asylum seekers.
Another 3,000 Afghans who have approval to enter Germany are currently undergoing document checks, mostly in Pakistan. According to the federal government, no new admission permits are being issued.
Criticism of the Government’s Program for Accepting Afghans
Brandenburg's Interior Minister Katrin Lange (SPD) announced that she will no longer accept or distribute refugees from the federal government's program for Afghanistan.
"I will terminate this agreement now," Lange said on Thursday in an interview with public broadcaster RBB. The reception center will no longer be available for temporary accommodation for these purposes.
“The selection of these Afghans is non-transparent, and there are serious doubts about the checks that were conducted,” Lange told dpa. She also finds it strange that nearly four years after the Taliban took control, alleged German collaborators are still being evacuated: “There are many open questions that the federal government should clarify in a very short time.”
