US Edition
Afghan refugees stuck in Pakistan as Germany halts entry programme
- In June 2025, Germany suspended its Afghan humanitarian admission programme in Pakistan, which began in October 2022 and is now on indefinite hold amid political shifts.
- Following Germany's May coalition formation and AfD's surge to second place in February's election, the interior ministry announced plans to phase out voluntary Afghan admission programmes amid concerns over societal capacity.
- Records show fewer than 1,600 Afghan refugees arrived in two years, with approval rates dropping from 74% to 52% in early 2025.
- Concern mounts as Pakistan intensifies deportations, with families detained and refugees suing Germany over the suspension of the programme.
- Germany continues to care for those already enrolled, but the suspension of its Afghan programme reflects broader limits on asylum claims, mirroring US refugee limbo since 2017.
10 Articles
10 Articles
Stuck in limbo: Afghan refugees stranded in Pakistan after Germany suspends refugee programme
ISLAMABAD: Afghan refugees, who fled their homeland after the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, now find themselves in limbo in Pakistan as Germany suspends its humanitarian admission programme.
The new federal government wants to suspend the federal reception programme for Afghans "as far as possible". Those affected continue to hope for the commitment from Germany.
Afghan refugees stuck in Pakistan as Germany halts entry program
BERLIN/ISLAMABAD: In a cramped guesthouse in Pakistan’s capital, 25-year-old Kimia spends her days sketching women — dancing, playing, resisting — in a notebook that holds what’s left of her hopes. A visual artist and women’s rights advocate, she fled Afghanistan in 2024 after being accepted on to a German humanitarian admission program aimed at Afghans considered at risk
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