US Plans to Deport Afghans via Pakistan
The United States plans to deport Afghans via Pakistan, sending more than 150 Afghan immigrants back to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan in one of the largest single expulsions of Afghans under President Donald Trump. The first flight could leave as soon as Monday, November 2.
The New York Times reported the plan on Friday, October 30, citing three unnamed United States officials, and advocacy groups warn that people sent back could face danger under Taliban rule.
What the deportation plan involves
More than 150 Afghan immigrants are expected to be deported, according to the Times report, and news reports say at least 80 Afghans were moved from 34 detention facilities to Louisiana, where a chartered flight is being prepared. Court filings for one detainee show a place on a chartered flight leaving Alexandria, Louisiana, in the first week of November.
Among those facing removal are relatives of Afghans who assisted the United States military before the fall of Kabul in August 2021, according to AfghanEvac, a group that supports former Afghan allies. The group says the list also includes at least one gay man.
The United States Department of Homeland Security has not confirmed the plan, saying it does not comment on prospective removal operations. Taliban authorities were not immediately available for comment.
Why the US will deport Afghans via Pakistan
Washington cannot arrange deportations directly to Afghanistan because it has no diplomatic relations with the Taliban government. Under the reported plan, the detainees would be flown to Pakistan, and Pakistan would oversee their expulsion across the border. A United States official confirmed that the deportations would run via Pakistan.
The route matters because Pakistan already runs its own large repatriation drive. Earlier this year, the government ordered law enforcement across the country to arrest Afghan citizens without visas. Reuters put the number expelled since 2023 at more than two million.
What it means for Pakistan
In practical terms, any group flown in would pass through Pakistani custody and border posts, at a time when relations with Kabul are already strained. Feature Pakistan reported that Pakistan slammed the Afghan Taliban over terrorism on October 31, after the Taliban spokesman said talks had failed. Feature Pakistan has also tracked the domestic side, including 517 Afghan nationals arrested in a week and Punjab seeking action against illegal Afghan nationals.
In diplomatic terms, the plan puts Pakistan in the middle of a United States decision that advocacy groups call dangerous. AfghanEvac president Shawn VanDiver said the administration was acting in the week of the United States midterm elections, hoping no one would notice. “America is about to put Afghans on a plane to the Taliban,” he said in a statement.
VanDiver added that some of those facing removal “are the brothers and sons of men who served alongside US forces, families the Taliban already has every reason to target,” and that “whatever path brought them here, the danger waiting for them is the same.”
The wider immigration crackdown
Trump issued travel bans last year covering Afghanistan among other countries, and sought to end deportation protections for Afghans. Some of those now facing removal were granted special immigrant visas after the August 2021 Taliban takeover.
After regaining power, Taliban authorities announced a general amnesty for Afghans who worked with Western-backed forces and governments. The United Nations, however, has recorded reports of extrajudicial killings, detentions and abuses since then.
What happens next
Frequently asked questions
How many Afghans does the US plan to deport via Pakistan?
More than 150 Afghan immigrants are expected to be deported, according to The New York Times, which cited three unnamed United States officials. The first flight could leave as soon as Monday, November 2.
Why would the deportations go through Pakistan?
The United States has no diplomatic relations with the Taliban government, so it cannot arrange deportations directly. Under the reported plan, Pakistan would oversee the expulsion across its border.
Who is among those facing removal?
AfghanEvac says the group includes relatives of Afghans who assisted the United States military before the fall of Kabul in 2021, and at least one gay man, who could face targeting under Taliban rule.
Has the plan been confirmed by the US government?
No. The Department of Homeland Security has not confirmed the plan and says it does not comment on prospective removal operations. Taliban authorities were not immediately available for comment.
