ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has warned that thousands of Afghan nationals awaiting relocation and resettlement in the United States will be deported to Afghanistan if their cases are rejected or not processed on time.
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar issued the warning during a television interview aired Saturday, noting that the U.S. has promised to relocate the Afghan community in question from Pakistan “tentatively around September this year.” His office in Islamabad released the interview excerpts.
“If any refugee who was undertaken to be taken by another country after due process —no matter the timeline — if it doesn’t happen and the country refuses, then for us, that will be an illegal immigrant in Pakistan, and we might be forced to send such refugee back to [their] original country, which is Afghanistan,” Dar told Turkey’s TRT national broadcaster.
However, the chief Pakistani diplomat expressed Islamabad’s willingness to resolve the issue with Washington, stating that his government is “examining the situation and will negotiate [accordingly].”
Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump halted refugee applications and travel plans until further notice to ensure that refugee entry into the United States aligns with its national interests.
The decision has stranded around 45,000 Afghans prepared to fly out of Afghanistan and at least 15,000 qualified refugees currently in Pakistan, according to #AfghanEvac, a coalition that assists Afghans with their relocation and resettlement in the U.S.
These individuals were part of Afghan families who fled their country following the Taliban insurgents’ retaking of power in 2021, primarily seeking refuge from potential retribution because of their affiliations with the U.S. and NATO forces during their nearly two-decade-long presence in Afghanistan.
While about 80,000 of these Afghans have since been relocated from Pakistan, officials in Islamabad assert that around 40,000 remain in a state of limbo including around 15,000 in Pakistan destined for the United States.
Since launching a crackdown on undocumented foreign migrants in September 2023, Pakistan has forcibly repatriated more than 825,000 undocumented Afghan refugees to their home country, according to the United Nations.
The government has recently intensified its crackdown, targeting both documented and undocumented Afghan refugees.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered authorities last month to remove all Afghans from Islamabad and the adjoining city of Rawalpindi by Feb. 28 before arranging for deporting them to Afghanistan along with others subsequently. The targeted population encompasses over 2.5 million Afghans nationwide, comprising lawful refugees, documented economic migrants, and those without legal authorization to remain in Pakistan.
Sharif’s directive stipulates March 31 as the deadline for the United States and other countries to process the cases of Afghans awaiting resettlements, thereby preventing their deportation.
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