Rights groups in Germany have taken legal action against two senior government officials after Afghan refugees accepted under a German resettlement programme were deported from Pakistan while awaiting their visas.

Pro Asyl, a refugee advocacy organisation, said hundreds of Afghans were detained in Pakistan this week, with at least 34 deported back to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, where they face "arbitrary imprisonment, mistreatment or even execution."

Together with another group, Pro Asyl filed criminal complaints against Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, accusing them of "abandonment and failure to render assistance" to Afghans caught in the escalating crackdown by Pakistani authorities.

The programme in question was launched under former chancellor Olaf Scholz after the Taliban takeover in 2021, offering refuge to Afghans who worked with German institutions or faced threats such as journalists and rights activists.

However, since Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office in May, the scheme has been suspended as part of a broader immigration clampdown.

The suspension has left around 2,000 Afghans stranded in Pakistan awaiting visas.

The Kabul Airbridge initiative, which supports those stuck there, warned that another 270 people under the programme risked deportation on Friday.

Marking the fourth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power, Wadephul expressed his "deep concern" over those in danger of deportation, saying Germany was "in touch with the Pakistani government at the highest level to ensure these people are protected."

Despite this assurance, Berlin has kept the programme frozen, even after a court ruled last month that the government had a "legally binding commitment" to issue visas to those already accepted.

Immigration has become one of the most divisive issues in Germany, heavily driven by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. A series of violent incidents involving foreign nationals, including Afghans, before the February election prompted Merz to pledge an end to the refugee admissions scheme and expand deportations of convicted criminals to Afghanistan.

Pakistan, which hosts a large Afghan refugee population, first began mass deportations in 2023. The campaign intensified in April when authorities revoked hundreds of thousands of residence permits, warning of arrests for those who remained. Since then, over one million Afghans have left Pakistan, including more than 200,000 in the past four months.