Pakistan to Deport 20,000 Afghans Awaiting US Resettlement

DID Press: Pakistani authorities have announced the deportation of thousands of Afghanistan citizens who were in the process of resettling in the US. According to sources, approximately 20,000 Afghan refugees, who had been waiting for months for relocation to the U.S., are now on the brink of being forcibly returned to Afghanistan.

The decision involves the deportation of 19,973 Afghan nationals, currently residing in Pakistan, who had resettlement applications pending with the U.S.

An informed source told The Nation newspaper on Sunday that these individuals will be transferred under Pakistan’s Illegal Foreigners’ Return Program (IFRP). The final decision for this action was made at the federal government level, and its implementation has been prioritized for immediate execution.

According to the report, the federal government will soon issue an official letter directing senior civil servants and police commanders in provinces such as Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, as well as the Islamabad Capital Territory commissioner to carry out the deportation process.

The source added that complete identity information of all 19,973 Afghan nationals awaiting U.S. resettlement will be provided to the relevant executive and security officials to ensure the swift implementation of the deportation process.

Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, more than 100,000 Afghan citizens fled to Pakistan. Many of these individuals had worked with the U.S. and U.K. governments, international organizations, or humanitarian bodies in Afghanistan, qualifying them for resettlement.

However, thousands of Afghans have remained in limbo in Pakistan for over four years due to suspension of case processing by the Trump administration, significantly reducing their hope for relocation to the U.S. This situation has now culminated in their forced return to Afghanistan.