Pakistan urges Western countries to speed up resettlement of thousands of Afghan nationals
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is encouraging Western countries to speed up approval and visa procedures for more than 44,000 Afghan nationals awaiting resettlement after the Taliban seized control of Kabul in 2021, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday.
The U.S. presence in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan has relied on the life-saving assistance of thousands of local people who have risked their lives to serve alongside U.S. troops, diplomats and contractors. These people have provided the United States with their knowledge of language, culture and geography at great risk to themselves and their families.
Since 2006, Congress has enacted several Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) programs that allow qualified applicants to safely resettle in the U.S. After the fall of Kabul, thousands of Afghans who had submitted such refugee resettlement applications entered neighboring Pakistan, where they remain in legal limbo and face constant threats to their cooperation with the U.S.
Last year, Islamabad launched a drive to expel all so-called illegal aliens that has disproportionately hit Afghans, with more than 600,000 people deported so far. Afghan human rights activists and SIV applicants allege that the drive has also forced the return of many Afghans awaiting resettlement in the United States, a charge Islamabad denies.
Baloch told a news conference on Thursday that “thousands” of people have been processed for relocation to third countries, including 9,000 in Australia, 6,000 in Canada, 3,000 in Germany, more than 1,100 in the UK and over 25,000 in the US.
“Pakistan continues to work with the governments of Australia, Canada, Germany, the US, the UK, France and Italy who have agreed to accept a certain number of Afghan nationals,” Baloch said. “To that end, we have continued to engage with them and urged them to expedite the approval and visa issuance process so that these people can relocate as soon as possible.”
Deportation Movement
Pakistan began deportations last year after a surge in suicide bombings that it blamed, without providing evidence, on Afghans. Islamabad also blames Afghans for smuggling, militant violence and other crimes.
Cash-strapped Pakistan, dealing with record inflation and a tough bailout program by the International Monetary Fund last year, has also argued that illegal immigration has been draining the country’s resources for decades.
According to government figures, there were more than 4 million Afghan migrants and refugees in Pakistan, about 1.7 million of them illegally, before the government launched an expulsion drive last year.
The majority of migrants are Afghans, many of whom arrived after the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021, but many have been in Afghanistan since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.
Islamabad maintains that the deportation drive does not specifically target Afghans, but all those residing in Pakistan illegally.
In October 2023, Pakistan announced the first phase of its “Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan,” which requires “illegal” foreigners to leave the country within 30 days or face forced repatriation, putting 1.4 million Afghan refugees at risk. More than 600,000 Afghans have been expelled in this phase.
In the second phase, Afghans holding Pakistan-issued Afghanistan Citizenship Cards (ACC) will be expelled, while the third phase is expected to target those holding UNHCR-issued Proof of Registration (PoR) cards.
On Pakistan’s repatriation drive, Baloch said the first phase of the repatriation programme has progressed “rapidly” over the past few months and is “nearing completion”, while mapping work is being done before the second phase begins.
“The implementation and launch of the second phase will be announced by the government of Pakistan and no exact date can be disclosed at this stage,” Baloch added.
Pakistan on Wednesday extended by one year the validity of expired PoR cards given to about 1.5 million Afghans, and Baloch said holders of such cards or those with refugee status in Pakistan would not be subject to deportation under the current phase of the plan.
Meeting with the Pakistani Taliban
Responding to a question about an offer by the Taliban government in Kabul, Afghanistan, to mediate talks between the Pakistani government and the Pakistani militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban, the foreign ministry spokesman said the government had no plans to enter into talks with “any terrorist organisation” involved in the killing of Pakistani nationals.
The TTP has stepped up attacks on Pakistani security forces in recent months, carrying out daily attacks on army and paramilitary positions and targeting and killing police and government officials.
Pakistan blames neighbouring Afghanistan and claims Kabul has not done enough to counter militant groups that use Afghanistan’s territory to attack Pakistan, a charge the Afghan Taliban denies.
“Pakistan will not enter into any negotiations with the terrorist group (TTP) which is involved in the killing of Pakistani nationals,” Baloch said. “We expect the Afghan authorities to take action against the terrorist groups which have found safe haven inside Afghanistan and are using its territory to launch terrorist attacks against Pakistan.”
