More than 250 human rights organisations and NGOs—including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Save the Children, and leading church groups—have intensified pressure on the German government to urgently evacuate around 1,800 Afghans stranded in Pakistan. These individuals were previously promised sanctuary under a refugee programme initiated by Germany’s former government.
The groups issued an open letter on Tuesday, calling on Berlin to honour its commitments and move the Afghans to Germany before the end of the year to prevent the risk of deportation back to Afghanistan.
Background to the Stalemate
The Afghans were accepted under a special protection scheme created by the previous administration. However, since conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office in May, the programme has been frozen, leaving applicants stranded in Pakistan for months.
Around 350 individuals have managed to reach Germany only after winning court challenges, highlighting growing legal and political pressure on the government. Germany says Pakistan has assured that those on the scheme will not be deported before year-end, but Berlin stresses the deadline cannot be extended.
Who Is Affected
According to the NGOs, most of the stranded Afghans are women and children, including journalists, human rights defenders, and former support staff who worked with German armed forces in Afghanistan.
Their letter appealed to Germany’s moral responsibility: “Especially now, during the Christmas season, we remember humanity and compassion… bring those to whom we have promised protection to safety.”
UNHCR Data and Refugee Profile
UNHCR data released on Tuesday shows Pakistan hosts over 2.18 million Afghans, of whom 1.22 million are registered. Only 35% of registered refugees live in designated villages.
Key figures include:
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1.09 million registered Afghan refugees with PoR cards
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138,701 unregistered members of registered families
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115,390 Afghan asylum seekers among 115,652 total asylum applicants registered with UNHCR
The latest figures reflect updates following a verification exercise, underlining the scale of Pakistan’s refugee burden as the humanitarian and political debate around Afghan evacuations continues.
