BERLIN: Berlin is offering cash to Afghan refugees in Pakistan if they agree to give up their places on a programme for resettlement in Germany, activists said on Tuesday.

The Afghans were accepted under a refugee scheme set up by the previous German government but around 2,000 have been stuck in Pakistan since conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office in May and froze the programme.

According to the initiative Airbridge Kabul, refugees have been sent a letter offering them money and other support in return for exiting the resettlement programme.

In the case of a single woman, the payments would be an initial 1,500 euros (about $1,700) in Pakistan and a further 5,000 euro payment if she travels to Afghanistan or a third country.

A spokeswoman for the interior ministry said that “there are offers within the framework of a voluntary return programme to Afghanistan or departure to another third country”.

Single woman may get 1,500 euros in Pakistan and a further 5,000 euros if she travels to Afghanistan or a third country

The German scheme was aimed at 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.

Eva Beyer from Airbridge Kabul said she was not aware of any refugees in the scheme who planned to accept the German government’s latest offer and that many had reacted with shock and outrage.

“I’ve been trembling all over and can’t stop crying,” read one message from a refugee which Beyer shared with this news agency. “I don’t want money or bread, I just want to live in safety.”

Pakistani authorities have in recent months intensified a crackdown on Afghans living in the country without residency.

Over the summer, more than 200 Afghans who were enrolled in the German programme were deported to Afghanistan.

In September, a German foreign ministry spokeswoman said that “an understanding” had been reached with Pakistan that no further arrests or deportations of those in the programme would take place until the end of the year.

However, according to Airbridge Kabul, there were 17 arrests in late October and the situation for Afghans in Pakistan was aggravated by the military clashes between the two countries last month.

The initiative says that the latest letter to the refugees admits that “the procedures in Pakistan must be fully completed by the end of 2025” but adds that “unfortunately, it cannot be guaranteed that all procedures will be completed in time”.

Several groups of Afghans in the resettlement programme have been able to come to Germany after taking the government to court, with a group of 14 arriving last Thursday.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2025