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Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
German govt sued over Afghan refugees deported from Pakistan
BERLIN: German rights groups took to the courts Friday on behalf of Afghans who were offered refuge by Berlin but are now caught between Chancellor Friedrich Merz's immigration crackdown and a wave of deportations from Pakistan. Refugee support groups filed cases against Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, accusing them of "abandonment and failure to render assistance" to Afghans who were previously promised asylum in Germany. The group Pro Asyl said Pakistan had detained hundreds of Afghans this week in an escalating series of arrests and deported 34, placing them at risk of "arbitrary imprisonment, mistreatment or even execution" in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. "We came to Pakistan one year ago because of the promise of the German government," a 27-year-old Afghan women's rights activist told AFP, asking not to be named for security reasons. "In the last few days that the police have been searching for us, my children and I have become sick," said the mother-of-two, who added that she was "terrified and anxious" after several friends were arrested. She and her family are among thousands of Afghans whom Germany offered to take in under a scheme set up under former chancellor Olaf Scholz in the wake of the Taliban's 2021 takeover. It offered asylum to Afghans who had worked with German institutions or who were particularly threatened by the Taliban, including journalists and human rights activists, as well as their families. However, the program has been put on hold as part of a stricter immigration policy brought in under conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who took office in May. This has left around 2,000 Afghans stranded in Pakistan waiting for visas to travel to Germany. "I am worried that if the police arrest us, they will hand us over straight away to the Taliban, and then my identity will be revealed to them and I couldn't imagine what they will do to me and my family," said the Afghan activist. "I am devastated." The Kabul Airbridge initiative, which aims to help those stuck in Pakistan, said that another 270 Afghans who had been accepted under the German scheme faced being deported on Friday and that at least four more guesthouses had been raided. The group said that while there had been previous cases of Afghans in the scheme being deported, the raids over the past few days were of a "different order of magnitude." According to Kabul Airbridge, the German government and the GIZ development agency have previously managed to stop deportations but it was far from certain they could do so now given the numbers involved. Pakistan first launched a deportation drive in 2023 and renewed it in April when it rescinded hundreds of thousands of residence permits for Afghans, threatening to arrest those who did not leave. Many Afghans have braved the heat and monsoon rains in parks, terrified of being swept up in the arrests. Wadephul, in a statement marking the fourth anniversary of the Taliban's return to power, voiced "deep concern" over the fate of those at risk of deportation and said Germany was making representations for them with Pakistani authorities "at the highest level." However, Berlin has continued to keep the admissions program on ice, despite a court ruling last month which found that it had a "legally binding commitment" to give visas to those who had been accepted under the program. Immigration has been a hot-button topic in Europe's biggest economy, pushed strongly by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. A string of violent attacks committed by foreign nationals, including Afghans, before February's election led Merz to tighten borders, promise to end the admissions scheme and to increase deportations of convicted criminals to Afghanistan and elsewhere. Those in limbo in Pakistan do not understand why they have to pay the price, among them a 33-year-old man who worked with the Germans in Afghanistan for three years on humanitarian projects. "We did not expect to be rewarded with this after working for Germany's goals," he told AFP, saying that he, his wife and their three children, after waiting in Pakistan for over a year, had been left in "panic and anxiety" by the police raids. "We fled from darkness, violence, injustice and oppression, now we are treated this way."
Arab News
10 hours ago
- Arab News
Mali arrests generals, French national accused in alleged destabilization plot
BAMAKO: Mali's military-led government has arrested two generals and a French national, accusing them of participating in an alleged plot to destabilize the West African nation, according to a government statement and state-owned media. Mali has endured over a decade of turmoil marked by Islamist insurgencies in its arid north along with political instability that culminated in a series of coups in 2020 and 2021 that brought current president General Assimi Goita to power. Sources told Reuters earlier this week that more than 30 soldiers and military officials had been taken into custody on suspicion of attempting to destabilize Goita's government. Mali's ministry of territorial administration, in a statement released late on Thursday, said those arrested included Yann Vezilier, a French citizen. France's once close relationship with its former colonies in West Africa's Sahel region has soured in recent years as military officers have overthrown civilian governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Paris has withdrawn French troops involved in an operation to combat Islamist militants there under pressure from the countries' new leadership. Mali, which cut military ties with France, has meanwhile turned to Russia for support. The ministry statement accused Vezilier of acting on behalf of French intelligence services to mobilize political and civil society figures and military officers. A French foreign ministry spokesperson said Friday that it had no official comment on Vezilier's arrest. Malian state media showed images of 10 other people detained for involvement in the alleged plot, including General Abass Dembele, who is the former governor of the central Mopti region, and General Nema Sagara, another leading military figure. The ministry did not specify how many people had been arrested in total but described them as 'a group of marginal elements' and said the situation was under control. Mali's military authorities have failed to keep their promise to hold elections. Instead, Goita was granted a five-year renewable term in June and political activities were suspended across the country. While Mali's military junta cited the civilian authorities' failure to put down Islamist uprisings in the north among its justifications for seizing power, security woes have persisted under Goita. The past few months have seen a surge of deadly attacks by Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam wal-Muslimin, an Al-Qaeda-linked group that also operates in Burkina Faso and Niger.
Arab News
13 hours ago
- Arab News
Germany tells Israeli government to stop West Bank settlement construction
BERLIN: Germany on Friday called on the Israeli government to stop settlement construction in the West Bank after Israel's far-right finance minister said work would start on a plan for thousands of homes that would divide the Palestinian territory. Germany 'firmly rejects the Israeli government's announcements regarding the approval of thousands of new housing units in Israeli settlements in the West Bank,' said a foreign ministry spokesperson in a statement. Plans for the 'E1' settlement and the expansion of Maale Adumim would further restrict the mobility of the Palestinian population in the West Bank by splitting it in half and cutting the area off from East Jerusalem, said the spokesperson. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Thursday that work would start on the long-delayed settlement, a move that his office said would 'bury' the idea of a Palestinian state. In a statement, Smotrich's spokesperson said the minister had approved the plan to build 3,401 houses for Israeli settlers between an existing settlement in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Germany has repeatedly warned the Israeli government to stop settlement construction in the West Bank, which violates international law and UN Security Council resolutions. Such moves complicate steps toward a negotiated two-state solution and end to Israeli occupation of the West Bank, said the spokesperson.
