The conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) parties in Germany have urged the country’s Foreign Ministry to suspend the acceptance of Afghan citizens until a new government is formed.
These parties stated that the decision regarding the entry of Afghan citizens into Germany should be entrusted to the new government, which should determine whether to grant asylum to Afghan citizens or not.
Andrea Lindholz, deputy head of the parliamentary group for the CDU and CSU, told AFP that Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock should not be organizing two flights to Germany each week.
She said, “It is astonishing that the Foreign Ministry has scheduled the next charter flight for Afghan citizens to Germany for Wednesday.”
Ms. Lindholz criticized this move, describing the continued acceptance of Afghans into Germany as “highly questionable,” adding, “In a non-transparent process, individuals are selected whose identities have apparently turned out to be false.”
The CDU and CSU secured the most votes in the recent federal elections in Germany.
Last week, Germany transferred 155 Afghan citizens on a charter flight from Islamabad to Berlin. Officials announced that more than half of these individuals arrived through the federal acceptance program, while others came via local staff acceptance programs and human rights lists.
According to the Foreign Ministry, all of these individuals completed the acceptance process and visa application, including interviews and security checks.
Reports indicate that Germany has accepted over 48,000 Afghan citizens since the current government took control of Afghanistan. However, the continued acceptance of Afghans into Germany has sparked reactions from politicians in the country.
It is worth noting that following the current government’s takeover of Afghanistan, a significant number of civil society activists, human rights defenders, women’s rights advocates, journalists, LGBTQ+ individuals, former military personnel, and Afghans who collaborated with foreign forces have fled to Pakistan and Iran due to fears of retribution or while awaiting their asylum requests in European and American countries. Some of them are still waiting for their asylum applications to be processed.
