By Fidel Rahmati in The Khaama Press Online, November 2, 2023
According to an American Media outlet, around 25,000 Afghan refugees living in Pakistan have immigration cases and are waiting for approval of their U.S. visas to avoid being deported.
According to Voice of America’s report, 25,000 individuals in Pakistan are eagerly awaiting relocation to the United States, and the U.S. authorities’ plan to prevent their deportation by Pakistan has been rejected.
While Pakistan’s deadline for migrants has expired, and the process of detention and deportation has begun, according to Pakistani authorities cited by Voice of America, they reported that “we received the list of 25,000 people just a few days before the deadline ended. However, upon careful review, we found many discrepancies. For this reason, we have sent it back to the American side.”
Officially, American authorities have not yet commented on the potential deportation of these 25,000 individuals. However, as per reports in Pakistani media, a list containing the details of these 25,000 individuals was handed over to Pakistani authorities some time ago, with a request not to deport the individuals included in this list.
Voice of America, citing Pakistani authorities, reported that “there were significant disagreements regarding this list among Pakistani government officials. For this reason, this list was sent back to American authorities.”
The media has endeavoured to highlight the position of American authorities about the deportation risk faced by Afghan refugees. An American official, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated, “To assist in the protection of individuals waiting for resettlement in the United States, we have provided the Pakistani government with a list of over 25,000 Afghans currently residing in Pakistan. We are now sending letters to these individuals, which they can submit to local Pakistani authorities to aid in their identification as individuals awaiting transfer to the United States.”
These individuals may still face potential threats to their safety in Afghanistan, especially as the Taliban administration has announced the deployment of special personnel and registration stations to verify the identities of migrants at the borders.
Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, also called on Afghanistan’s neighbours, particularly Pakistan, to allow entry to migrants seeking international support.
https://www.khaama.com/immigrants-awaiting-us-visas-at-risk-of-deportation-from-pakistan/
