As US shuts door, thousands of Afghans in Pakistan have nowhere to go

Islamabad, Jan 22 US President Donald Trump's executive order to suspend the refugee programme has put a big question mark on the fate of thousands of Afghans living in Pakistan who had fled from the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and have been waiting for years to resettle in the United States.

The US refugee programme, that would have eventually resettled in the US over 25,000 Afghan nationals currently residing in Pakistan after fleeing Afghanistan, was quashed by Trump on Monday, his very first day in office.

As per the agreement between Pakistan government and the Biden administration, it was agreed between the two countries that over 25,000 Afghans - most of them having served and worked with the US military and its contractors before Taliban's takeover in August 2021 - would later be resettled in the US.

Islamabad was initially expecting that the agreement would be for a temporary stay of Afghan nationals in the country. However, no progress was made on it for the last three-and-a-half years.

"The Biden administration had assured Pakistan that the Afghans would be resettled through initiatives like the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) and the US Refugee Admission Programme (USRAP). But now, after Trump's executive order, the entire process has been disrupted," said senior strategic analyst Kamran Yousaf.

It has also been reported that visas of at least 1,660 Afghans, cleared by the US government to resettle in the US along with their families, have been suspended and they are left with no option but to stay put in Pakistan.

"This is happening immediately after Trump's order suspending the US refugee programme," said an official.

Washington's decision has now put the fate of these Afghan nationals in Pakistan in jeopardy.

"These unfortunate Afghans are now faced with multiple problems and severe issues. They are in Pakistan, a country that is repatriating illegal Afghans back to their home country. In Afghanistan, these people are at risk of being arrested and killed because the Afghan Taliban are against all those who had worked with the US forces before August 2021," said Syed Liaqat Banori, Chairman, Society for Human Rights and Prisoners Aid (SHARP).

Sources in the Pakistan government have also expressed serious concerns over the latest development.

"We knew that this refugee programme could come under scanner once President Trump takes charge but the fastidious manner with which the new administration has acted has come as a big surprise," said an official.