BERLIN: German Cha­n­­­­cellor Friedrich Merz said on 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, “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 honoured.

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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.

Since Merz’s conservative-led coalition government took power in May, it has put the process on ice as part of a wider push to toughen immigration policy.

‘Constant threat’ from Taliban

As alarm has grown about many of those now left in limbo, Berlin on Monday allowed a first group of 47 Afghans who had successfully taken legal action to fly to Ger­many.

The group of over 200 who were deported to Afghanistan — among them rights activists, artists, former judges and their families — wrote of their desperate plight in a letter sent Monday to the chancellery and the foreign and interior ministries.

“Trusting in the commitments of the Federal Republic of Germany and hoping to begin a safe life in Germany, we left Afg­h­anistan despite grave threats and perilous journeys,” they wrote.

They said they had travelled to Islamabad expecting to receive German visas within months but, in many cases, had been waiting for more than three years.

Since being deported to Afghanistan last month, they had been “living in constant fear inside a so-called ‘safe shelter’ organised by your partners”.

“The constant threat of Taliban entry, the fear of revenge, arbitrary detention, abduction, torture or death has created unbearable psychological tra­u­ma,” they added.

Merz said the government was now reviewing the eligibility of Afghans to enter Germany “on a case-by-case basis”.

“There are some cases that are very clear. There are other cases that are not so clear. And in any case, a security check is required before each individual entry.”

He added that “Germ­any has ent­e­red into a number of legal obligations under the previous government, which it must of course also fulfil under this government”.

“All cases are subject to review, particularly with regard to security,” he said. “And with this in mind, we are of course also considering the req­u­e­­st of the 200 Afghans who have approached us.”

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2025