44,000 Afghans in Pakistan waiting for relocation to Western nations: Pakistan government

Pakistan said on July 11 that it was hosting at least 44,000 Afghan nationals approved and accepted for relocation by the Western nations to their countries due to fear of reprisal against them by the Taliban.

Pakistan said on July 11 that it was hosting at least 44,000 Afghan nationals approved and accepted for relocation by the Western nations to their countries due to fear of reprisal against them by the Taliban.

In 2021, Pakistan saw an exodus of Afghans who left their country after the NATO-backed Afghan government crumbled and the Taliban entered Kabul.

Addressing the weekly press briefing in Islamabad, Foreign Office spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that at least 44,000 Afghans approved for relocation to Western nations are still in Pakistan.

She said that 25,000 Afghans were approved for relocation to the U.S., 9,000 Afghan nationals accepted for relocation by Australia, 6,000 by Canada, 3,000 by Germany, and over 1,000 by the U.K., but were still living in Pakistan.

Ms. Baloch said they were all yet to be relocated despite the lapse of almost three years since the NATO-backed Afghan government crumbled and the Taliban entered Kabul, triggering a painful exodus by Afghans who felt threatened by the new regime.

“We have urged them to expedite the approval and visa issuance process for these countries, for these individuals, so that they are relocated as early as possible,” Ms. Baloch said.

Initially, Pakistan allowed the fleeing Afghans to enter without any hindrance. However, relations with the interim Kabul government gradually deteriorated over the issue of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants using Afghan soil to attack Pakistan.