Pakistan has forced nearly 500,000 Afghans to return home over the last four months, complicating life for Afghan refugees who worked with the U.S. and who were promised a special visa to rebuild their lives in America.
Many of the refugees fled to Pakistan to try to connect with U.S. authorities and now find themselves thrown back into danger, one of the findings of a new U.S. government watchdog report being released Thursday.
The problem is that the U.S., in the wake of its hasty, chaotic troop pullout in 2021, no longer has a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan so it can’t complete the interviews necessary to issue those allies the special visas. Others awaiting approval as refugees to the U.S. are also in danger of being sent back.
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, in the latest survey, said three people the IG’s office itself was sponsoring to be refugees have been deported from Pakistan, including one categorized as “most vulnerable to Taliban retribution.” Another 23 of the office’s candidates are also in danger of imminent deportation.
Once back in Afghanistan, they’ll find a country still on a downward spiral since the U.S. withdrawal, the inspector general said in its latest quarterly report.
The Taliban, which ousted the U.S.-based government in Kabul in a lightning military assault, has begun a new crackdown on women and girls improperly dressed according to Islamic Shariah legal codes. Child and forced marriages are increasing, the economy continues to deteriorate, and food shortages are spreading and affecting nearly 40% of the population this winter, the inspector general said.
“Although there is improvement in a few areas such as counternarcotics, most social, economic and humanitarian indicators are clearly worsening,” the inspector general said.
Afghanistan remains an embarrassment for the U.S. and particularly President Biden.
He ended a 20-year war effort with a chaotic pullout that saw 13 American troops killed in a suicide bombing. The hastily organized U.S. airlift included tens of thousands of Afghans who had no legitimate claims to protection while stranding thousands of Afghans who did assist the U.S. and may be eligible for the special visa or refugee status.
Those left behind have struggled, with some telling The Washington Times they have to move homes to avoid detection by the Taliban regularly. Going to Pakistan had been a safety valve, with Afghans slipping over the border while waiting to hear from the U.S. or for a chance to be interviewed — the key middle step in the process for a U.S. visa.
Now Pakistan’s “Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan” threatens that whole approach. Islamabad say the program is a national security move and an effort to force the Taliban regime in Kabul to take the threat of terrorism in the insecure border areas more seriously.
The plan could oust up to 1.3 million Afghans living in Pakistan, according to U.N. estimates. Some 29,3000 were already deported and Pakistan has forced more than 460,000 others to depart, the inspector general reported.
The State Department told the inspector general that Pakistan is using the people as a foreign policy tool, targeting in particular the Taliban’s de facto support for the TTP, a terrorist group that is increasing its attacks on Pakistan.
American officials had thought they’d secured an agreement with Pakistan in November not to deport Afghans who were using the country as a way station en route to the U.S., but the inspector general said some have been ousted anyway.
The latest data, dating back to Sept. 30, showed more than 68,000 special visa applications are filed and awaiting initial action. Another 67,000 are waiting on an eligibility determination and more than 10,000 people are waiting for an interview, after which the visa can be issued.
Those interviews can no longer take place in Afghanistan, which is one reason why Afghan allies told The Washington Times they went to Pakistan, where the embassy is conducting interviews.
The State Department, in a statement to The Times, acknowledged the difficulty of not having a presence in Afghanistan. It said it has a program to help assist some Afghans eligible for the special visa to relocate outside the country. Others must find their own way.
“The administration has made clear that we have an enduring commitment to continue resettlement efforts for our Afghan partners and their eligible family members,” the department said.
U.S. veterans say leaving so many behind to the Taliban’s mercy is a breach of America’s commitment.
After a rise early last year, the pace of special visa processing dropped toward the end of 2023. Just 881 new primary visas and 2,990 derivative family visas were issued from July to September, down nearly 40% from the previous quarter. Initial denials, meanwhile, rose from 4,261 to 4,521.
Perhaps most worrying for applicants is the timeline between applying and being issued a visa.
It skyrocketed to 609 days, or more than a year and a half. That’s a major reversal from earlier in 2023, when the State Department said it had gotten the process down to just 270 days.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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