Germany | Pakistan

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has praised Germany’s cooperation in modern agricultural technology, green initiatives, and forestry development.

An Afghan man was sentenced to life in prison by a German court on Tuesday for a knife attack that killed a police officer and injured five others at an anti-Islam rally last year. The verdict comes at a time of heated debate about immigration and security in Germany, and a strong surge in support for the country’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The defendant, named only as Sulaiman A to protect his privacy, was found guilty of using a large hunting knife to attack people during a demonstration in the western city of Mannheim that was organised by the anti-Islam group Pax Europa in late May 2024. Sulaiman A attacked a speaker and several demonstrators at the event before stabbing a police officer who rushed in to help. The officer later succumbed to his injuries. The attacker was taken into pre-trial custody in June 2024 after leaving intensive care for injuries he sustained during his arrest. Though prosecutors say he sympathised with the Islamic State group, he was not tried as a terrorist. ...

A group of 47 Afghans who fled the Taliban arrived in Germany on Monday after months of waiting in Pakistan until German court rulings forced Berlin to offer them refuge. The 10 families have been among more than 2,000 Afghans caught in limbo in Pakistan as Germany’s conservative-led government this year froze a programme to offer them sanctuary. Most of them arrived in Hanover on a commercial flight from Istanbul around 2pm (1200 GMT), said an AFP reporter and the Airbridge Kabul initiative set up to help those affected. An interior ministry spokeswoman confirmed that “45 Afghan nationals entered Germany. These are all individuals who obtained visas through legal proceedings … All of these individuals have fully completed the admission procedure and security screening“. The Airbridge Kabul initiative later said that two more people had arrived after catching a later connection from Istanbul. A mother and daughter who did not want to give their names told AFP they were looking forward to their new life in Ger...

The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) said on Sunday it has formed an inquiry committee to probe “serious irregularities” during the Fisu World University Games 2025 in Germany, including the reported disappearance of two athletes. The Fisu World University Games is a tournament that brings together students from all over the world every two years to compete across 18 sports. This year, 8,500 students from across the world took part in the event, which was held from July 16 to July 27, according to its website. In a statement issued today, the PSB said Pakistani contingent’s participation in the tournament faced “significant administrative failures”, including a “lack of transparency in the selection of team officials, discipline issues, logistical mismanagement, and the alarming disappearance of two student-athletes”. One of the many “failures” was that “two student-athletes were reported missing or suspected of fleeing during the event”, the PSB said, citing the Higher Education Commission (HEC). The sports board...

Germany said on Friday it had deported 81 Afghan men convicted of crimes to their Taliban-controlled homeland, as Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government looks to signal a hard line on immigration. The interior ministry said a plane carrying the men took off Friday morning bound for Afghanistan, adding that all the deportees were under expulsion orders and were convicted by the criminal justice system. The government of Europe’s top economy was forging ahead with a “policy change”, said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, who was hosting several European counterparts for a migration meeting. “Deportations to Afghanistan must continue to be carried out safely in the future. There is no right of residence for serious criminals in our country.” Berlin has had only indirect contact with the Taliban authorities through third parties with Friday’s operation executed with the help of Qatar, said the German interior ministry. Germany had stopped deportations to Afghanistan and closed its embassy in Kabul following t...

Germany’s data protection commissioner has asked Apple and Google to remove Chinese AI startup DeepSeek from their app stores in the country due to concerns about data protection. Commissioner Meike Kamp said in a statement on Friday that she made the request because DeepSeek illegally transfers users’ personal data to China. The two US tech giants must now review the request promptly and decide whether to block the app in Germany, she added. DeepSeek did not respond to a request for comment. Apple and Google were not immediately available for comment. According to its own privacy policy, DeepSeek stores numerous personal data, such as requests to its AI programme or uploaded files, on computers in China. “DeepSeek has not been able to provide my agency with convincing evidence that German users’ data is protected in China to a level equivalent to that in the European Union,” Kamp said. “Chinese authorities have far-reaching access rights to personal data within the sphere of influence of Chinese companies,” ...