Muhammad Usman Amin

ISLAMABAD: Germany Federal Ministry of the Interior Spokesperson Elena Singer stated on Wednesday, in an exclusive comment to Pakistan TV Digital, that it has held talks with Afghanistan&rsquo;s de facto authorities to establish a formal process for deporting Afghan nationals.&nbsp;Speaking to Pakistan TV Digital, the ministry spokesperson confirmed that discussions were held at a technical level with Kabul&rsquo;s de facto authorities to create a structured mechanism for deporting Afghan migrants from Germany.&nbsp;This development follows recent reports that Germany had offered certain Afghan individuals in Pakistan, who had been shortlisted for asylum in Germany. This includes a sum of &euro;1,500 to forgo relocation to Germany and remain in Pakistan, or &euro;5,000 to return to Afghanistan, a move that has caused dismay among asylum hopefuls.&nbsp;In an official statement to Pakistan TV Digital, the spokesperson confirmed the new government&rsquo;s policy to repatriate Afghan citizens, a move signaling a controversial engagement with the Taliban.&nbsp;&ldquo;The Federal Government is currently holding talks with the Afghan de facto authorities in order to establish a return mechanism that will allow the regular repatriation of Afghan citizens,&rdquo; said Singer.&nbsp;The ministry stated that this policy is part of the government&rsquo;s &ldquo;coalition agreement.&rdquo;&nbsp;The incumbent Friedrich Merz-led government in Germany, a coalition between the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats, signed an agreement during their campaign pledging to take a tougher stance on migration and to resume deportations of Afghans and Syrians. This marks a departure from the previous administration, which had promised not to carry out such deportations.&nbsp;The statement further noted that deportations &ldquo;will be resumed, starting with criminals and persons considered a potential threat.&rdquo;&nbsp;This new diplomatic engagement follows a precedent set in July 2025, when &ldquo;a first return operation under the current government took place, during which 81 Afghan citizens who had committed serious crimes in Germany were repatriated.&rdquo;&nbsp;Previously, deportations had been conducted with Qatar acting as an intermediary. However, this time Germany is engaging directly with the Afghan authorities.&nbsp;The goal of the new talks is to move beyond one-off operations and establish a regularized process.&nbsp;The spokesperson noted that the &ldquo;return mechanism&rdquo; is intended for Afghan citizens who &ldquo;have no legal right to stay in Germany and are required to leave the country.&rdquo;&nbsp;This could potentially mean that deportations will be expanded to include Afghans whose asylum applications have been rejected and who are therefore residing illegally in Germany.&nbsp;Moreover, the ministry&rsquo;s use of the term &ldquo;de facto authorities,&rdquo; instead of &ldquo;the Afghan government,&rdquo; when referring to the Taliban, clearly indicates that Berlin is dealing with the group in power without recognizing it as the legitimate government.&nbsp;The ministry acknowledged the sensitive nature of the negotiations, concluding that &ldquo;no further information can be provided at this stage of the talks.&rdquo;

Afghanistan

Germany’s Interior Ministry confirms holding talks with Afghanistan’s de facto authorities; purpose is to establish a formal deportation process for Afghan nationals; marking direct engagement with the Taliban after previous indirect repatriations via Qatar

Germany negotiates with Taliban over refugees but denies 'legitimacy' 

KABUL:&nbsp;The United Nations on Tuesday suspended operations at a key border crossing between Afghanistan and Iran because of new interim Afghan government restrictions on Afghan women workers, a UN official said. Indrika Ratwatte, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan, did not detail the restrictions but warned they were creating &quot;immediate operational challenges&quot; and posed &quot;additional risks for returning people, particularly women and girls.&quot; Main crossing point&nbsp;Islam Qala is the main crossing point for Afghans expelled from Iran, more than 60% of whom are women and children, according to the UN official. &quot;The UN and humanitarian partners have today suspended operations at the Islam Qala border between Afghanistan and Iran, following the introduction of additional restrictions preventing female national UN and partner staff from operating at the border,&quot; said Ratwatte. &quot;Without female staff, we cannot collectively serve returning women and children under conditions of dignity and respect,&quot; Ratwatte added. Several UN sources contacted by AFP said the decision followed a Monday meeting with interim Afghan government officials. The Taliban authorities did not immediately respond to AFP&#39;s request for comment. An Afghan worker for a UN agency in Herat, near the border, said on Tuesday that &quot;no services are being provided for migrants in either Islam Qala or in Ansar camp&quot; in the city. An NGO worker told AFP that their humanitarian organization suspended its operations in Islam Qala. The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, had already suspended assistance to returning Afghans, citing &quot;instructions from the de facto authorities preventing Afghan female staff from working.&quot; Ban on employing Afghan women&nbsp;In 2022, the Taliban banned NGOs from employing Afghan women, extending the measure to UN agencies in 2023. While women are still allowed to work in certain sectors or remotely, all Afghan UN employees have been required to work from home for the past two months.&nbsp; NGOs, however, can still deploy Afghan women as field staff. According to the UN, more than 1.2 million Afghans have crossed through Islam Qala from Iran so far this year. They are among the 2.2 million Afghans who have returned this year, including 1.7 million from Iran. &lsquo;Test of our collective humanity&rsquo;&nbsp;Roza Otunbayeva, head of the UN mission in Afghanistan, in July described the situation at Islam Qala as a &quot;test of our collective humanity.&quot; The UNAMA chief warned that many returnees, especially women, face trauma, poverty, and restricted access to basic services under Taliban rule. She urged the international community to act swiftly, saying Afghanistan &quot;cannot absorb this shock alone&quot; and that the cost of inaction would be measured in lives lost and renewed instability.

In 2022, the Taliban banned NGOs from employing Afghan women, extending the measure to UN agencies in 2023; according to the UN, more than 1.2 million Afghans have crossed through Islam Qala from Iran so far this year.

UN suspends work at Afghanistan-Iran border over curbs on women staff

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: At least 14 migrants killed after an inflatable boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast of Bodrum in Turkey&rsquo;s Mugla province on Friday, Turkish authorities said. The vessel sank near Ortakent in the Aegean Sea after departing from the nearby Bitez area earlier in the day. According to the Mugla Governor&rsquo;s Office, the boat had 18 migrants on board, reportedly including Afghan nationals. About ten minutes after setting out, the vessel began taking on water and quickly sank.&nbsp; One survivor swam for nearly six hours before reaching shore and alerting authorities, while another was rescued on Celebi Island, the coast guard confirmed. &ldquo;Additional Coast Guard boats and a helicopter were deployed to support the operations,&rdquo; Turkish officials said. &ldquo;The bodies of 14 migrants were recovered.&nbsp; Search and rescue efforts for other missing migrants continue under the coordination of the Coast Guard, using four boats, a dive team, and a helicopter.&rdquo; The rescue mission involved four Turkish Coast Guard vessels, a diving team, and an aerial unit that responded after receiving a distress call from the 112 Emergency Call Center.&nbsp; Two migrants were rescued, and operations are ongoing for two others still unaccounted for. It is not clear whether the migrants were attempting to reach the nearby Greek island of Kos, a common destination for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.&nbsp; The tragedy comes just days after Turkey launched a nationwide crackdown on human trafficking networks, detaining over 160 suspects accused of facilitating illegal migration.

Europe

At least 14 migrants, reportedly including Afghans, drowned after a boat capsized off Turkey’s Bodrum coast. Two survivors were rescued as authorities continue searching amid a nationwide crackdown on human trafficking networks

14 migrants killed as boat capsizes off Türkiye's Bodrum

LONDON: Migrants seeking to settle in the UK will have to have a job, not claim benefits, and undertake community work under plans to be unveiled by the interior minister on Monday. Currently, those with family in Britain and who have lived there for five years qualify for &quot;indefinite leave to remain&quot; -- permanent residence -- as do those who have lived legally in the UK for 10 years on any type of visa. Major policy shift&nbsp;Eligible applicants meeting those thresholds also earn the right to live, work and study in the UK and to apply for benefits and British citizenship. But in a major policy shift, Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood was Monday to announce that migrants would have to make social security contributions, claim no benefits, have a clean criminal record and volunteer in their community in order to stay. Mahmood will outline the plans at the annual conference of the ruling Labour party, and the government will consult on the changes later this year, according to a press release from the party. &lsquo;Indefinite leave to remain&rsquo;The announcement comes shortly after the opposition hard-right Reform Party, which is currently leading in national polls, said it would get rid of &quot;indefinite leave to remain&quot; altogether, with migrants instead required to reapply for visas every five years. This would apply to the hundreds of thousands of people who have already attained leave to remain. &quot;These measures draw a clear dividing line between the Labour government and Reform, whose recent announcement... would force workers, who have been contributing to this country for decades, to leave their homes and families,&quot; said the Labour party statement. &lsquo;Racist&rsquo;Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday called Reform&#39;s plan &quot;racist&quot;, adding it would &quot;tear the country apart&quot;. In her first speech to the Labour conference as interior minister, Mahmood will say that migrants should learn English to a high standard and that she will be a &quot;tough&quot; minister. Immigration is a key issue in the UK, and Mahmood will warn party members that a failure to tackle it will mean that &quot;working people will turn away from us... and seek solace in the false promises&quot; of Reform leader Nigel Farage. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves will also address the conference on Monday, when she will &quot;vow to invest in Britain&#39;s renewal&quot; and announce new plans to get young people in work, according to a Labour press release.&nbsp;

United Kingdom

The UK plans stricter rules for migrants seeking permanent residence, requiring employment, no benefits, volunteering, English proficiency, and a clean record, contrasting sharply with the Reform Party’s proposal to abolish indefinite leave entirely.

UK plans tougher rules for migrants seeking to stay in country

<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Three Iranian nationals, who arrived in the UK as irregular migrants, on Friday denied spying in Britain on behalf of Iran&#39;s intelligence services. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, appeared at London&#39;s Old Bailey court charged under the powerful National Security Act. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones said the charges were serious and related to spying on journalists and organizations &quot;known to be considered by the Iranian regime as hostile&quot;. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&quot;These are extremely serious charges,&quot; said Dominic Murphy, head of the Met&#39;s Counter-Terrorism command, when the men first appeared in court in May, adding that it had been a &quot;very complex and fast-moving investigation&quot;. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All three were charged with &quot;engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service between 14 August 2024 and 16 February 2025,&quot; the police said. Sepahvand was charged with conducting surveillance, reconnaissance, and open-source research with the intent to commit serious violence against a person in the United Kingdom. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Manesh and Noori were also charged with &quot;surveillance and reconnaissance with the intention that acts, namely serious violence against a person in the United Kingdom, would be committed by others.&quot; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The BBC reported in May that the men allegedly targeted UK-based journalists working for the Farsi-language Iran International television news network, an independent media organization based in London that Iran has labelled a terror organization. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Home Office said the suspects were all irregular migrants having arrived in the UK by small boat or other means, such as hidden in a vehicle, between 2016 and 2022. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The three defendants, who appeared via videolink from Belmarsh prison, confirmed their identities speaking through a Farsi interpreter before entering not guilty pleas in English. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A trial has been set for October 2026, with an interim hearing in March. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In March, Iran became the first country to be placed on the UK&#39;s enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, which aims to boost the UK&#39;s national security against covert foreign influences. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Under the scheme, all people working inside the UK for Iran, its intelligence services, or the Revolutionary Guard have to register or face jail.

Three Iranian migrants in the UK denied spying for Tehran, facing charges of surveillance and aiding Iran’s intelligence. Accused of targeting journalists, they pled not guilty at Old Bailey. The trial is set for October 2026.

Three Iranian migrants deny spying in UK for Iran

ACCRA: Eleven West African nationals deported by the US to Ghana were sent to their home countries over the weekend despite safety concerns, their lawyer told a court in Ghana on Tuesday. The US had deported a total of 14 West African immigrants to Ghana under controversial circumstances. Although Ghanaian authorities earlier said they had all been sent home, the deportees and their lawyers later told The Associated Press that 11 of them were still at a military facility in Ghana. The 11 deportees sued the Ghanaian government last week, seeking their release. Eight of them had told the local court that they had legal protections from being deported to their home countries &ldquo;due to the risk of torture, persecution or inhumane treatment.&rdquo; &ldquo;We have to inform the court that the persons whose human rights we are seeking to enforce were all deported over the weekend,&rdquo; their lawyer, Oliver Barker-Vormawo, told the court Tuesday at a virtual hearing, adding that the suit had become irrelevant. &ldquo;This is precisely the injury we were trying to prevent,&rdquo; he said of the safety concerns of the deportees. The Trump administration&rsquo;s deportation program has faced widespread criticism from human rights experts who cite international protections for asylum-seekers and question whether immigrants will be appropriately screened before being deported. The administration has been seeking ways to deter immigrants from entering the US illegally and remove those who have already done so, especially those accused of crimes, and including those who cannot easily be deported to their home countries. Faced with court decisions that migrants can&rsquo;t be sent back to their home countries, the Trump administration has increasingly been trying to send them to third countries under agreements with those governments. Ghana has joined Eswatini, Rwanda, and South Sudan as African countries that have received migrants from third countries who were deported from the US.

Africa

Eleven West African migrants deported by the US to Ghana were sent home despite legal protections against torture and persecution, their lawyer said, calling it a violation of human rights amid Trump’s controversial deportation program.

US deports 11 Ghanaian migrants despite safety concerns

TRIPOLI: Scores of Sudanese refugees were dead or missing after two boat disasters off the coast of Libya last weekend, UN agencies said on Wednesday.One boat capsized on Saturday, according to the UN refugee agency, and a second caught fire on Sunday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said -- each off the eastern port city of Tobruk.The first boat was carrying 74 people, &quot;mostly Sudanese refugees&quot;, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on its X account for Libya, of whom &quot;only 13 people survived and dozens remain missing&quot; from Saturday&#39;s wreck.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1968344775863791988&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fmedia-library%2F&sessionId=14c341dbfb98918785efb5bb9a0a81648663a43f&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 921px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="1968344775863791988"></iframe></div></div>An IOM spokesperson earlier told AFP that Sunday&#39;s &quot;tragic incident took place when a rubber boat carrying 75 Sudanese refugees caught fire&quot; en route to Greece, adding: &quot;At least 50 lives were lost.&quot;The UNHCR and the IOM spokesperson did not immediately provide details of the ages or gender of those on board the boats.&quot;IOM provided immediate lifesaving medical care to the 24 survivors,&quot; the spokesperson added, without clarifying if one last person was still missing from Sunday&#39;s wreck.Libya is a key transit country for thousands of migrants seeking to reach Europe by sea each year.Perilous Mediterranean crossing&nbsp;At least 456 people died and 420 were reported missing along the central Mediterranean route between January 1 and September 13, according to the IOM.Libyan authorities have so far this year intercepted and returned 17,402 migrants to Libya, including 1,516 women and 586 children.The war in neighboring Sudan has pushed over 140,000 refugees into Libya in the past two years, nearly doubling the number of Sudanese refugees in the country.Many brave difficult conditions in Libya, migrants have told AFP, while others attempt the dangerous sea crossing in a bid to reach Europe.One of the deadliestThe IOM considers the central Mediterranean crossing one of the deadliest migrant routes in the world.In 2024, 2,573 people trying to reach Europe died in the Mediterranean Sea, it said.&nbsp;

Scores of Sudanese refugees died or went missing after two boat disasters near Libya’s Tobruk port last weekend—one capsized with 74 aboard, the other caught fire with 75 on board, killing dozens.

Articles tagged with "Migrants"