Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities said Monday they were seriously concerned about reported US plans to deport more than 150 Afghan nationals to Pakistan, from where they could eventually be returned to Afghanistan. The group includes relatives of Afghans who assisted US forces before their withdrawal in 2021, according to US media reports and the advocacy organisation AfghanEvac.
Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi said the United States should take a responsible and measured approach, coordinate with Afghan authorities and consider the rights and demands of those affected. He added that the Afghan side was prepared to engage with Washington on the issue.
Advocacy groups have warned that deporting former allies and their families could put them at risk. The Taliban announced a general amnesty after returning to power and have repeatedly said that former opponents could safely return. However, the United Nations has documented reports of extrajudicial killings, detentions and other abuses.
The administration of President Donald Trump has pursued a broader immigration crackdown, including travel restrictions affecting Afghanistan, and sought to end deportation protections for some Afghans. Some of those affected had received special immigrant visas after the Taliban takeover in 2021.
Because the United States cannot organise deportations directly to Afghanistan, anonymous US officials cited by The New York Times said Pakistan would oversee the transfers and their eventual expulsion to Afghanistan.
Pakistan has intensified its policy of returning Afghans in recent years. Earlier this year, its government ordered nationwide arrests of Afghan citizens without visas, as part of a repatriation campaign that has sent millions of Afghans back after they fled during decades of conflict.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained tense since the Taliban seized power and deteriorated further after deadly border clashes last October, which led to the near-total closure of the frontier.
Sources: Euronews English.