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ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan is facing a new political dilemma over the fate of thousands of Afghans who had been allowed to stay temporarily in the country under a US-sponsored relocation program.
The uncertainty follows President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend the initiative indefinitely after the recent attack in Washington, throwing the future into limbo for Afghans who worked with US forces during the two-decade war.
Official sources told The Express Pakinomist that Pakistan had been “closely monitoring” developments in Washington. “If the US decides not to take these people, then Pakistan will have no option but to send them back,” a senior official said on condition of anonymity. “Islamabad cannot indefinitely host a population that was never intended to stay here permanently.”
The suspended program designed to facilitate the relocation of Afghans who served with U.S. troops, contractors and agencies during the U.S. presence in Afghanistan. Following the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, Washington worked with Islamabad to allow these Afghans to enter Pakistan on a temporary basis for screening and further processing.
Pakistan accepted thousands of such persons, many with families, on the understanding that their stay would be brief and solely for transit purposes.
The US had assured Islamabad that all eligible Afghans would be relocated after security clearances and administrative formalities. However, the abrupt closure of the program has caused deep concern in Pakistani official circles.
“We offered temporary hospitality at Washington’s request,” another official said.
“Pakistan does not have the economic capacity or the political space to absorb this population permanently.”
The suspension comes at a sensitive time as Pakistan continues its broader repatriation campaign targeting Afghan refugees, a policy that has already prompted nearly a million Afghans to return, although officials maintain that the group awaiting US relocation is legally and administratively separated.
“These individuals were here under a formal US arrangement. That is why their cases cannot be mixed with undocumented migrants,” the official clarified. “But now Washington’s decision has changed the status quo.”
The Taliban government, for its part, has repeatedly called on neighboring states to repatriate Afghan nationals and insists that the security situation in the country has improved.
However, human rights groups warn that former interpreters, aid workers and others associated with the US mission remain vulnerable to persecution.
Several of these Afghans, currently living in Pakistan, expressed anxiety following the news of the program’s suspension.
Pakistani officials privately acknowledge that the stalled relocation process has added friction to an already complex bilateral relationship. Islamabad has repeatedly called on Washington to speed up the processing of Afghan applicants, arguing that delays create both security risks and humanitarian burdens.
Diplomatic sources say Pakistan has engaged US officials to seek clarity on the programme’s future. But Trump’s indefinite suspension, announced in the wake of the Washington attack, signals a sweeping shift in US immigration policy, with deep implications for partners like Pakistan, which cooperated during the chaotic 2021 evacuation.
“If the US ends the program permanently, Islamabad will have to make a difficult call. Keeping these Afghans indefinitely is simply not sustainable,” the official said.
For now, Pakistan is expected to wait for an official announcement from Washington before taking a final decision.
As uncertainty deepens, thousands of Afghan families remain stranded, caught between an America that no longer seems willing to take them and a Pakistan that insists it cannot host them indefinitely.
