Afghan government urges its citizens stranded in Qatar while awaiting US visas to return home
Special Immigrants from Afghanistan walk through the in-processing building after their evacuation at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, August 20, 2021. U.S. Army/Sgt. Jimmie Baker/Handout via REUTERS
Afghanistan on Saturday urged its citizens who are currently stranded in Qatar while awaiting visas from the United States to return home, saying the country is safe and welcoming to all.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said in a statement that Afghan nationals awaiting travel to the US have reportedly been asked to either return to Afghanistan or seek resettlement in a third country.
Balkhi said Afghanistan “constitutes the shared homeland of all Afghans” and invited those affected to return “with full confidence and peace of mind”, emphasising that no citizen is compelled to leave for security reasons.
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Regarding the Relocation of Afghan Nationals Awaiting Travel to the United States in the State of Qatar pic.twitter.com/VCOeqjCVbJ
He added that those wishing to relocate elsewhere could do so through “legal and dignified channels” at an appropriate time.
The ministry also said it is ready to work with other countries under bilateral consular arrangements to safeguard the rights of Afghan citizens abroad.
Thousands of Afghans have been awaiting relocation in various countries since the Taliban regained power in 2021, with many going through third countries such as Qatar and Pakistan to obtain visas for resettlement, particularly in the US.On April 22, the Trump administration was in talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo to resettle 1,100 Afghans who have been stranded in Qatar awaiting US visas, according to an advocacy organisation that works on their behalf.
The discussions underscore the legal hurdles facing Afghans who fled the Taliban after US immigrant visa processing for Afghan nationals was effectively halted, leaving them in limbo more than four years after the US withdrawal from Kabul.