BERLIN: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday his government was considering an urgent appeal for help from more than 200 Afghans who have been deported back to their Taliban-run homeland from Pakistan.
The group are among roughly 2,400 Afghans who have fled their country for Pakistan in recent years after being told Germany would grant them refuge — before Berlin’s approach to migrants hardened under a new government.
The group of over 200, whom Pakistan deported in mid-August, called their anonymous letter, seen by AFP, “a desperate plea for urgent intervention to save our lives” from the threat of Taliban retaliation.
Merz, asked about the letter during a Berlin press conference, said he took it “seriously” and pledged that legally binding commitments given by previous German governments would be honored.
After the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Berlin set up a scheme to offer sanctuary to Afghans who had worked with German forces in Afghanistan or who were deemed at particular risk from the Taliban, for example journalists, lawyers and human rights activists.
