Taliban voice concern over US plan to deport Afghans via Pakistan

The Taliban authorities said on Monday they were seriously concerned about reported US plans to deport Afghan immigrants to Pakistan. Reports by US media and an advocacy group say more than 150 Afghan nationals in the United States would be sent via Pakistan to Afghanistan.

Taliban foreign ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi said the Islamic Emirate expressed serious concern over reports that the United States intends to deport some Afghan refugees to Pakistan who have not yet been able to obtain legal residency documents there. He urged Washington to take a responsible and measured approach and to decide on the fate of Afghan citizens with mutual understanding and coordination, considering the rights of those concerned. He added that the Afghan side was ready to engage in a practical manner.

According to AfghanEvac, those expected to be deported include relatives of Afghans who helped US forces before the fall of Kabul. Anonymous US officials told The New York Times that Pakistan will oversee the removal of the deportees to Afghanistan. The United States cannot arrange deportations directly to Afghanistan, while Germany and Turkey have deported Afghans directly in recent years.

Al Jazeera reported that 66 US lawmakers wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, asking them to halt the planned mass deportation. They cited advocacy group reports that at least 150 Afghans were scheduled to be flown from detention facilities in Louisiana to Pakistan from Tuesday. Human Rights First confirmed that a flight from Alexandria, Louisiana, to Pakistan is scheduled for Tuesday. Rights advocates say Iranians may also be included.

In their letter, the lawmakers wrote that sending people back to one of the most dangerous countries on earth, where they are likely to be targeted for suspected support of the US government or criticism of the Taliban, is a death sentence. They also said the US had promised never to abandon Afghans who stood with American service members.

The Associated Press reported that Department of Homeland Security officials said in court filings they eventually planned to return some Afghans to their home country. AfghanEvac founder Shawn VanDiver said the people were placed into removal proceedings because they did not have attorneys to fight. The group says most of those scheduled did not get a proper chance to contest removal in court.

The United Nations has recorded reports of extrajudicial killings, detentions and abuses against former Afghan officials and allies, though the Taliban announced a general amnesty for Afghans who worked with Western-backed forces. Pakistan earlier this year ordered police nationwide to arrest Afghans without visas, and relations with Kabul worsened after deadly border clashes last October that led to a near-total border closure.