Pakistan, US discuss Afghan deportation plan

A senior Biden Administration official dealing with refugee and migration issues began her four-day trip here on Tuesday with a series of meetings at the foreign office.

Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Migration, Julieta Valls Noyes is the first of three Biden administration officials that are visiting Pakistan within the next few days.

On the first day of her trip, Noyes held a meeting with foreign secretary Cyrus Qazi and Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, Ambassador Asif Durrani.

The foreign office issued no press release but Noyes on her X handle (formerly twitter) shared an image of her meeting with Ambassador Durrani with a terse statement stating: “Good to visit Pakistan Foreign Ministry and see special representative for Afghanistan Asif Durrani again today (Tuesday) for discussion on Afghan refugees, protection and resettlement.”

She will continue to meet other senior officials during her stay in Pakistan in what seems an effort on part of Washington to find a solution to those stranded Afghan individuals who are eligible for migration to the US.

Pakistan has launched a crackdown against Afghans living in the country illegally following the expiry of the deadline on October 31.

Read More: More than 317,000 Afghans repatriated

Since the decision, the US has been in touch with Pakistan to ensure that Afghans who are eligible for immigration to the US are spared.

There are about 25,000 Afghans, who according to Washington, are in Pakistan and waiting for their immigration to the US.

Those Afghans worked for the US during its military campaign in Afghanistan. But after the US withdrawal, they have been stuck in Pakistan, waiting for the process of immigration to complete.

The US has been working with Pakistan to find a workable solution to avoid such Afghans being deported to Afghans.

There are also concerns that other than such Afghans, there are individuals such as musicians, artists, journalists and others who may be evicted. The US is keen that such vulnerable Afghans are not touched either.

Pakistani officials also said their cases would be scrutinised accordingly and made it clear that in the first phase those Afghans are being sent back who don't have any legal status.

Following her visit, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Tom West is due in Islamabad later this week to discuss the overall Afghan situation particularly the current state of relationship between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban.

Tension between Pakistan and Taliban government has been running high as Kabul refused to take decisive action against the TTP.

Read More: 28,000 illegal Afghans sent home, says IG

The US is believed to have been worried that any escalation in tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban government would destabilise Afghanistan.

The US officials are likely to get the firsthand account of Pakistani officials about the ties with Afghanistan.

Officials said that despite repeated demands, the Taliban are reluctant to neutralise the TTP threat.

After the recent terrorist attack in Bannu, Pakistan made a fresh demand from Afghan Taliban to take verifiable actions against the TTP and its affiliates.

The Taliban are still pushing for alternative options, something Pakistan has refused to accept.