Trump refugee policy tests Pak-US ties

The relationship between Pakistan and the new US administration under President Donald Trump is facing an early challenge as the new president suspended the Biden-era refugee programme meant to resettle thousands of Afghans currently stranded in Pakistan.

Approximately 25,000 Afghans, eligible for the US refugee programme, were granted temporary stay in Pakistan at Washington's request. The individuals fled Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in August 2021, with most having worked for the US military or its contractors.

Pakistan agreed to host them temporarily, hoping the resettlement process would be completed within a few months.

More than three and a half years after the Taliban's return, the cases remain unresolved. The Biden administration had assured Pakistan that these Afghans would be resettled through pathways like the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program and the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP).

However, President Trump's executive order on his first day in office suspending US refugee programmes has now disrupted the process.

Nearly 1,660 Afghans cleared by the US government to resettle in the US, including family members of active-duty US military personnel, are having their flights cancelled under Trump's order suspending US refugee programmes, a US official and a leading refugee resettlement advocate said on Monday.

According to Reuters, the group includes unaccompanied minors awaiting reunification with their families in the US as well as Afghans at risk of Taliban retribution because they fought for the former US-backed Afghan government, said Shawn VanDiver, head of the Afghan Evacuation coalition of US veterans and advocacy groups and a US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The US decision also leaves in limbo thousands of other Afghans who have been approved for resettlement as refugees in the US but have not yet been assigned flights from Afghanistan or from neighbouring Pakistan, they said.

Trump made an immigration crackdown a major promise of his victorious 2024 election campaign, leaving the fate of US refugee programmes up in the air.

The White House and the State Department, which oversees US refugee programmes, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

There was no official response from Pakistan either.

However, official sources told The Express Tribune that Pakistan was increasingly concerned over the latest development.

"We knew that this refugee programme could come under scanner once President Trump takes charge but the manner with which the new administration acted was a surprise," commented a Pakistani official familiar with the issue.

Just a day before President Trump's oath-taking, a meeting was held at the Foreign Office to discuss Afghans currently stuck in Pakistan. Sources said Pakistan had been urging the US authorities to expedite their process.

One source said the presence of such Afghans was also a security concern given that most of them were not ordinary citizens but ones who were trained and worked for the US military and their intelligence.

When Pakistan launched a crackdown against the illegal Afghans in 2023, the US quickly approached Islamabad to spare those who were eligible for resettlement in the US. Pakistan obliged the US request but asked Washington to complete the process at the earliest.

While the Biden administration acknowledged the issue, the new administration may not even discuss the same with Pakistani authorities. This may test both governments as Pakistan has made it clear that it cannot host such Afghans forever.

With the Trump Administration looking tough on immigration, this may put Pakistan and the US at odds over the issue of Afghans.