Pakistan issues deadline for Afghans as Trump backs out of US resettlement promise

The Government of Pakistan has drafted a three-stage repatriation plan for Afghan refugees promised resettlement by the US, calling on foreign missions to coordinate the relocation of Afghan nationals out of Islamabad and Rawalpindi by March 31, 2025, reported CNN on Friday.If they’re not removed by that date, they will be “repatriated to Afghanistan”, said the drafted Pakistani plan.When Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in 2021, hundreds of thousands of refugees fled across the border to neighboring Pakistan, seeking safety away from the group.Afghan nationals who had worked with the United States or NATO forces were particularly fearful of reprisals from the Taliban. Promised resettlement in the US, many traveled to Pakistan to await American visas. Now they fear they’ll be deported back to Afghanistan, following US President Donald Trump’s order to suspend the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), effectively locking out refugees worldwide who had been on a pathway to US resettlement.Soon after the executive order was signed, Pakistan’s Prime Minister’s Office drafted a three-stage repatriation plan for “Afghan nationals bound for 3rd country resettlement.”The document, seen by CNN, calls for foreign missions to coordinate the relocation of Afghan nationals out of Islamabad and its twin city of Rawalpindi by March 31, 2025. If they’re not removed by that date, they will be “repatriated to Afghanistan.”Deportation is ‘a death sentence’While living in Afghanistan, Shakoofa Khalili worked on a child abuse protection program funded by the US Embassy. She hoped to gain a US visa but ended up trapped in Pakistan, with few options to leave.Many Afghans who worked for the US but were unable to escape Afghanistan now live in hiding, in fear for their lives. Those in Pakistan are terrified of being killed should they be forced to return.The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement Wednesday that those forced to return face retribution from the Taliban – especially ethnic and religious minorities, women and girls, journalists, human rights activists, and members of artistic professions.Shawn VanDiver, the founder of #AfghanEvac, a leading coalition of resettlement and veteran groups, says 10,000 to 15,000 Afghans are in Pakistan waiting for visas or resettlement in the US.In a post on X, VanDiver said the pause in the USRAP disproportionately affects Afghan women in Pakistan, leaving them without work, without legal protections and without hope. “Since the fall of Kabul, Afghan women have been systematically erased from public life – banned from education, work, and even basic freedoms. For many, USRAP was the only viable path to safety. With the pause, that door has slammed shut,” he said.According to the document seen by CNN, Pakistan’s intelligence agencies are expected to coordinate with the Prime Minister’s Office to monitor and implement the relocation plan.Pakistan’s Interior Ministry released a statement to CNN confirming that “all illegal foreigners including Afghans are to be deported back to their countries of origin under the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP).”It urged countries sponsoring Afghan nationals for resettlement to complete the process quickly, or “the sponsored Afghans will be deported.”The document also threatens to deport Afghans holding an Afghan Citizen Card, another form of registration for Afghan refugees in Pakistan issued almost a decade ago.The US embassy and Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to CNN’s question about the coordination between authorities to date.Pakistan wants Afghan refugees to leavePakistan is home to one of the world’s largest refugee populations – most of them from Afghanistan.According to the UNHCR, more than three million Afghan refugees, including registered refugees and more than 800,000 undocumented people, are living in Pakistan.Many fled the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s. A new generation went to Pakistan in the aftermath of September 11 attacks, ebbing and flowing during the nearly two decades of conflict that followed.The Taliban’s return to power in 2021 following the United States’ chaotic withdrawal sparked another wave of some 600,000 refugees.Pakistan began a fresh crackdown on Afghan refugees in 2023 to pressure the Taliban to do more to curb militant attacks launched from Afghanistan.According to the UNHCR, 800,000 Afghan nationals have since left Pakistan.The crackdown on those who are neither registered with the UNHCR nor awaiting resettlement to a third country is continuing in phases, with thousands of Afghans sheltering in safehouses and slums hoping to resist repatriation to their home country.Khalili continues to hide with her husband and child in Islamabad, and her despair continues to mount. She told CNN of the risks she and others have taken “to support the United States’ mis.”