US encourages Afghanistan's neighbors, including Pakistan, to accept refugees

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department said on Thursday that it “strongly” urged Afghanistan’s neighbors, including Pakistan, to allow entry for Afghans seeking protection and to uphold their obligations in the treatment of refugees.

THE TAKE

Pakistan has imposed a Nov. 1 deadline for the expulsion of all illegal immigrants, including hundreds of thousands of Afghans.

BY THE NUMBERS

According to Islamabad, approximately 1.73 million Afghans in Pakistan lack legal documents. The Pakistani government also accused Afghan nationals of carrying out more than a dozen suicide bombings this year.

Pakistan has been hosting the largest number of Afghan refugees since 1979 when the Soviet invasion of Kabul occurred. The total number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan is estimated at 4.4 million.

There are currently around 20,000 or more Afghans in Pakistan who fled the Taliban takeover in 2021. They are awaiting the processing of their applications for U.S. Special Immigration Visas (SIVs) or resettlement as refugees in the United States.

KEY QUOTE

“We strongly encourage Afghanistan’s neighbors, including Pakistan, to allow entry for Afghans seeking international protection and to coordinate with international humanitarian organizations… to provide humanitarian assistance,” a spokesperson from the U.S. State Department stated during a press conference on Thursday.

CONTEXT

Pakistan has stated that the deportation process will be organized and carried out in phases, potentially starting with individuals who have criminal records.

The Taliban rulers of Afghanistan have condemned Pakistan’s threat to force out Afghan migrants as “unacceptable.”

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated in recent years, largely due to allegations that Islamist groups fighting against Pakistan operate from Afghan territory. The Taliban deny these claims.

A coalition of former top U.S. officials and resettlement organizations has called on Pakistan to exempt thousands of Afghan applicants for special U.S. visas or refugee relocation to the United States from deportation to Afghanistan.

(Reporting by Simon Lewis; writing by Kanishka Singh)