BERLIN:

Berlin is offering cash to Afghan refugees in Pakistan if they agree to give up their places on a programme for resettlement in Germany, activists said Tuesday.

The Afghans were accepted under a refugee scheme set up by the previous German government but around 2,000 have been stuck in Pakistan since conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office in May and froze the programme.

According to the initiative Airbridge Kabul, refugees have been sent a letter offering them money and other support in return for exiting the resettlement programme.

In the case of a single woman, the payments would be an initial 1,500 euros (about $1,700) in Pakistan and a further 5,000 euro payment if she travels to Afghanistan or a third country.

A spokeswoman for the interior ministry told AFP t

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