Berlin — Germany has begun offering cash incentives to Afghan refugees stranded in Pakistan if they agree to withdraw from a program that once promised them sanctuary on German soil, according to AFP.
The initiative, revealed by the activist group Airbridge Kabul, targets roughly 2,000 Afghans who were approved for relocation under a scheme launched by the previous German government. Their resettlement has been frozen since conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office in May, halting the program indefinitely.
Refugees have reportedly received letters offering financial compensation and logistical help in exchange for exiting the process. For a single woman, the offer includes an initial €1,500 (about $1,700) in Pakistan and an additional €5,000 if she returns to Afghanistan or moves to another country.
A spokesperson for Germany’s Interior Ministry confirmed that the payments fall under “a voluntary return program to Afghanistan or a third country.”
The resettlement effort was originally designed to protect Afghans who had worked alongside German forces or faced threats from the Taliban among them journalists, lawyers, and human rights defenders.
Activists say the refugees have responded with disbelief and despair. “I don’t want money or bread, I just want to live in safety,” one woman wrote to Airbridge Kabul’s Eva Beyer, who described widespread shock at the offer.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has intensified its crackdown on undocumented Afghans. More than 200 who were slated for resettlement in Germany have already been deported, despite a reported agreement between Berlin and Islamabad to halt such actions until year’s end.
Airbridge Kabul says Germany’s letter admits that resettlement procedures must conclude by late 2025 but concedes “it cannot be guaranteed that all will be completed in time.”
