BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th August, 2021) Germany is granting visas to Afghans who worked with its forces "out of humanitarian concerns," an interior ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday, adding that support staff were not considered refugees.
"They are not coming to Germany as refugees. This has nothing to do with the refugee program," Marek Wede told a government press conference in Berlin.
He stressed that no blanket decision was made to take in all Afghans who had ever worked for German organizations in Afghanistan. Visas are issued to at-risk workers after they apply for admission.
German Foreign Office spokesman Christofer Burger said 202 Afghan citizens had been evacuated by Wednesday. This is on top of 1,900 Afghans who arrived before July. A total 2,400 visas were issued to Afghans before German troops withdrew.
Burger denied reports claiming that the German government had been dragging its feet when it came to the embassy's evacuation. ARD reported on Monday that charge d'affaires Jan Hendrik van Thiel complained in a situation report on Friday that Berlin had ignored "urgent appeals" for a long time.
"The embassy was at that time convinced that security could be maintained for a while," Burger argued.
The German government has been criticized by the media and opposition for waiting until the last minute to begin the rescue operation. Kabul's takeover by the Taliban (designated terrorist and banned in Russia) caused thousands to storm the airport in a desperate attempt to flee.
