U.S. moves to transfer some Afghan asylum seekers to Pakistan, report says

The United States is pursuing a plan to deport some Afghan asylum seekers from its immigration centres to Pakistan, according to a Bloomberg report citing informed government sources and migrant rights groups. Although the U.S. government has not officially announced the plan, some of the migrants are expected to be flown to Pakistan in the coming weeks.

Unlike European countries, the United States has not reached an agreement with the Taliban administration on returning Afghans to Afghanistan, and appears to view Pakistan as an easier route for removing them. Reports say some migrants in U.S. detention centres were told by immigration officials that their names were on a passenger list for flights to Pakistan, including relatives of people who worked with U.S. forces before the fall of Kabul.

The migrant rights group AfghanEvac says this would be the first time detained Afghans have been sent to Pakistan, a country that has repeatedly been condemned by the United Nations and human rights organisations for its treatment of migrants. The group also warned that Pakistan could be used as a transit route for sending these migrants back to Afghanistan.

According to AfghanEvac, since Oct. 22 this year it has received at least 30 reports of the possible transfer of Afghan asylum seekers from 15 detention centres in 11 U.S. states. Travel documents have not yet been shown to them or their lawyers, and it is unclear which country they are to be deported to.

The move could have serious humanitarian and legal consequences for Afghan asylum seekers and has raised broad concern about their situation in Pakistan and the prospect of forced return to Afghanistan.