Germany  announcement that it will take in 1,000 at-risk Afghans with their families from Afghanistan will be challenging, an Afghan lawyer says, because it is becoming increasingly difficult for Afghans to leave Afghanistan. In a joint statement, the German Foreign and Interior ministries announced the new humanitarian admission program. The plan is to approve around 1,000 Afghans at particular risk, along with m their family members from Afghanistan for admittance every month, said the statement. It is going to be very challenging," said Abdul Subhan Misbah, former deputy head of Afghanistan Lawyers Union who has been involved in the efforts to evacuate judges and prosecutors from Afghanistan, adding that t is not clear who would be included, and it won t be easy to take people out of Afghanistan that is ruled by the Taliban.

The German government said that the new program would evacuate at-risk women and human rights activists, former government officials, and civil society members. The program also includes those persecuted in Afghanistan because of their gender, sexual orientation, and/or religion. Misbah said that many employees of the former government and members of civil society want to leave their country. Most of the people want to leave, he said. What are the criteria based on which people will be admitted? How are they going to help those at risk to get out of Afghanistan? These questions have to be answered. Besides the problems they face to get passports and visas, he said, Afghans must travel to a third country because there are no direct flights from Afghanistan to Germany.

It should be something that the German government has to negotiate with neighboring countries to facilitate the process,Misbah said. Germany Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Christopher Burger, told VOA that his government is working with the neighboring countries to help with the process. We will continue to work through all channels available to us in order to assure safe passage to the people that we want to bring to safety,he said. Germany has admitted 26,000 Afghans since Kabul fell and the Taliban returned to power in August 2021. Burger said to implement the new program, German authorities would work with organizations already on the ground and involved in helping at-risk individuals leave the country, but the German government would make the final decision on who is the most vulnerable and most in need of admission to Germany.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP