Pakistan defence minister threatens to deport Afghan refugees awaiting resettlement abroad

Islamabad: Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif threatened on Monday to deport Afghan refugees awaiting resettlement abroad if the host nations failed to swiftly accept them.

Asif made the comments in an interview with Geo News, where he was asked about the fate of Afghans stranded in Pakistan in the wake of Donald Trump's rhetoric against foreigners.

About 175,000 Afghans came to Pakistan with a plan to settle in the US and other Western countries after the Taliban took over Kabul in August 2021, he said, adding that thousands were still living in Pakistan, waiting for repatriation.

“They would be sent back to Afghanistan if not accepted by the host countries,” he said, showing Pakistan’s exasperation over the delay in relocation of the Afghan refugees.

The fate of these Afghans is in limbo after the Trump government announced the suspension of the US Refugee Admissions Program from January 27 for at least three months.

Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said Pakistan had taken note of the suspension of the United States Refugee Admission Program by the US but hoped that it would restart.

“We are hopeful that the program would be restarted so that the remaining Afghan refugees could be resettled in the US as per commitments given by the US government,” he said.

To a question, Khan said that he needed to reconfirm the latest data but old figures showed that almost 80,000 Afghan nationals, cleared for resettlement abroad, had been taken by various countries for resettlement, and around 40,000 were still in Pakistan.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated over the alleged inaction by Kabul against the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan militants who regularly attack the security forces. Pakistan blames their sanctuaries across the border for attacks.

The delay in the relocation of thousands of Afghans to the US and the alleged involvement of some in militancy and others in the reported violent protests by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has compounded the issue of Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

Reportedly, about 1.45 million Afghan refugees are residing in Pakistan legally and their stay has been extended until June. However, hundreds of thousands of others have been living illegally.

Pakistan launched a crackdown against foreigners, mostly Afghans, in November 2023. So far, an estimated 800,000 Afghans have either gone back voluntarily or been deported.