Pakistan reminds US of Afghan DPs
The Pakistani government notified the United States that it plans to send all Afghans who wait for American resettlement outside their deadline or case rejection.
An official diplomatic message reached American authorities through their recognized channels after President Donald Trump implemented a 90-day settlement suspension for Afghan refugees.
The Afghan people who served the US and other western forces in their war against the Afghan Taliban sought refuge in Pakistan where they applied for short-term asylum.
Pakistan offered temporary safekeeping to refugees before they departed from Islamabad on their way to their final destinations at the request of US and coalition forces.
All Afghans who worked for American and allied forces received the promise of obtaining specific immigration visas under this program.
The Biden administration operated at a lethargic pace when moving the Afghan residents to their new destinations.
Under the previous United States government agreement Afghan nationals destined for special immigration visas were supposed to be resettled by September 2025.
The program suspension by President Trump suggests the deadline for relocation cannot be reached.
Pakistan expresses concern because the current presidential anti-immigration measures make relocation of these Afghans to the United States doubtful.
This decision compelled Pakistani officials to deliver unequivocal warnings to the Trump administration concerning the exclusive time frame until September 2025 for these Afghans to remain in Pakistan.
No one has confirmed the total Afghans who remain in Pakistan but experts put the numbers between 15,000 and 25,000.
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed in his TRT World interview that Pakistan would force Afghans who had not been relocated to the United States to leave its territory.
Any refugee who received refugee status and would have been relocated to another country through proper diplomatic procedures will be viewed as an unlawful immigrant in Pakistan since the transfer did not happen and the destination nation refused placement. Thus Pakistan might be forced to send refugees back to Afghanistan according to Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar.
The foreign minister maintained a possibility of dialogue with the United States to solve this problem.
Pakistan has selected a strict approach to manage Afghan refugee policies throughout the nation. The government plans to develop policies which will guide the return of every Afghan person currently living in Pakistan’s territory.
A government campaign started in October 2023 to remove undocumented Afghans has moved towards deporting every Afghan regardless of their legal residence status.
The reason behind Pakistan’s push for the eviction of Afghans stems from its strained ties with the Taliban regime.
