US Plans to Deport Hundreds of Afghan Refugees to Afghanistan via Pakistan
A US source and a coalition of veterans and human rights activists announced on Friday that the US government intends to return a significant number of Afghan refugees to their home country. According to Reuters, many of these individuals fled Afghanistan following the Taliban’s takeover and are now at risk of deportation.
Sean VanDiver, head of the group Afghan Evac, emphasized that some of these refugees are children and siblings of those who worked alongside US forces and whose families are direct targets of Taliban threats. This highlights the consequences of insecurity and threats to the right to life for these individuals.
According to some reports, more than 150 Afghan migrants are expected to be part of one of the largest group deportations of Afghans. An American official said these returns will be carried out through Pakistan because Washington lacks formal relations with the Taliban administration and thus cannot coordinate directly for the return of individuals to Afghanistan.
In response to this decision, Sean VanDiver has called on the US Congress to pass a law granting Afghan refugees “Temporary Protected Status” to safeguard them from deportation and threats posed by the Taliban. This request reflects serious concerns regarding the security and human rights protection of Afghans residing in the US.
This US government decision comes at a time when the Taliban administration, as the controlling power in Afghanistan, has repeatedly demonstrated repressive behavior towards families associated with foreign forces and human rights defenders, raising growing concerns about the safety of returnees.
