The suspension of US refugee admissions under President Donald Trump’s recent executive order has brought the hopes of thousands of Afghan refugees stranded in Pakistan to nought. According to the order, which puts the admissions on hold for at least 90 days, 10,000 Afghans, who were already approved for entry, have been blocked, with tens of thousands more applications frozen.
A Shattered Promise for Afghan Allies
For many refugees, this decision left them in precarious limbo. Zahra is a 27-year-old former worker at the Afghanistan defence ministry, who was on the cusp of resettling in the United States after an application process spanning three years. Speaking under a pseudonym for safety, she shared her devastation, “All I want is for them to stand by the promise they made. I only wish to live a peaceful life.”
It is a particularly critical time for female refugees who have fled the Taliban regime’s repressive rule. Afghan women have been denied education and participation in public life, forced to wear the most extreme form of veiling. Many, such as Zahra, believe that going back to Afghanistan is impossible. Some women, like lawyer Moniza Kakar, shared that they “prefer suicide than going back to Afghanistan.”
The U.S. Withdrawal’s Lingering Impact
The U.S. withdrawal from Kabul in 2021, which ended two decades of war, triggered an evacuation as Afghans feared Taliban reprisals. The refugee programme was a lifeline for those who worked with or on behalf of the U.S., including ex-soldiers and government employees. Now, with the suspension, many are left in uncertainty.
Pakistan, home to one million Afghan refugees, has become a waiting line for these hopefuls. Even so, conditions could hardly be more unwelcome. Refugees have reported harassment and pressure from Pakistan to leave, as Pakistan was enforcing a campaign to evict the undocumented Afghans. Since October of 2023, about 800,000 Afghans left Pakistan, many forced to return to a homeland filled with danger.
Moral Obligation and Advocacy
According to Trump, the reason for the halt was the inability of the U.S. to take in huge numbers of migrants. However, advocacy groups say that America owes a moral debt to those who risked their lives for U.S. interests.
Read More: Trump in Talks With Multiple People About TikTok Purchase
Caught between an uncertain future in Pakistan and the dangers of returning to Afghanistan, there are refugees such as Zahir Bahand, a former journalist, who feel abandoned. “There is no life left for me—no peace, no future, no home,” he laments.
The suspension leaves a pressing question unaddressed: what happens to the thousands of Afghans who bet their fate on a promise now frozen in time?
Stay tuned to Brandsynario for latest news and updates