Pakistan’s deportation campaign continues to stoke fear among Afghans mired in the stalled United States. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), according to multiple sources who spoke with me on condition of anonymity.
Sources who are shepherding Afghan allies in Pakistan and several deported Afghans explained that the Pakistani government is taking biometric information from individuals prior to deportation. Amidst a blanket pause on visa extensions, sources say Afghan refugees fear that their biometric information may be used to stop reentry into Pakistan in the future.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson Babar Baloch said that biometrics taken by Pakistani authorities are being used to verify identities of Afghans as returnees are deregistered from Pakistan, transferred to UNHCR centers, and returned to Afghanistan with assistance. Baloch emphasized that “we do not share biometrics details with de facto authorities.” He added that UNHCR is “not aware of any biometric information being used to prevent” return to Pakistan.
Other difficulties continue to plague refugees, including reports from U.S. and Afghan sources that the Pakistani government deactivated some Afghans’ SIM cards this week. One U.S. source said that, according to the Afghans they support, the Pakistani police purportedly travel to addresses where the SIM cards are located, ask Afghans to produce their visas, and arrest those who have none. Those who can afford to bribe the Pakistani police are said to receive a reprieve from arrest.
Aside from bribery, there appears to be little that can be done to stop deportations. This has caused anguish for volunteers who have spent years supporting vulnerable allies. One source told me that a female prosecutor they were assisting was deported last week despite having a valid Pakistani visa in addition to a request for a visa extension. The woman’s family says that the prosecutor is now in Taliban custody.
Andrew Walker, former #AfghanEvac case handler and strategic advisor, told me that a 16-year veteran of the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command (ANASOC) was forced to return to Afghanistan this week. In 2022, Walker was part of an effort to relocate the commando after the Taliban beat a member of his family to force him into giving up the commando’s location. Fortunately, a team of Americans was able to help the commando find safety and a referral to the USRAP.
But having a U.S. case underway was no protection when the police arrived at the commando’s house several days ago and demanded that he depart Afghanistan on his own or face forcible arrest and deportation. The man borrowed money and fled to Afghanistan. Without resources, he seeks a safe location to remain off the Taliban’s radar. “It makes me angry that more people aren’t outraged by this,” Walker reported.
Afghans in the USRAP and in various visa pipelines have serious concerns about repatriation, particularly if they believe that their information may have been leaked to the Taliban.
The BBC reported on Aug. 21 that there have been 49 data breaches involving Afghans who had filed relocation applications to get to safety in the U.K. This includes a list of 19,000 Afghans that the Daily Mail reported in July was accidentally shared by a British soldier in 2022. It also includes an incident in which 250 Afghans were copied on an email from the Ministry of Defense, an oversight that resulted in a £350,000 fine.
A rumor is spreading among USRAP applicants that a list of a small number of Afghans in the USRAP program provided to the Pakistani government in 2023 as protection from deportation has been leaked. After querying multiple individuals, I found no proof that the list was leaked. In response to questions about the allegations, the State Department told me that “as a general matter, we do not comment on unverified reports.”
Though no American list appears to have been leaked, the Defense Department’s Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) continues to host numerous photos of vulnerable Afghan military and government personnel. It also contains names of allies, including prosecutors.
Over the past 18 months, a total of about 2.5 million Afghans have been returned to their homeland. Rates of deportations from Pakistan stand at around 3,500 to 4,000 per day. Iranian deportations have tapered since the summer, with about 1,600 to 1,700 Afghans deported each day. Though it only plays host to about 9,000 Afghans, Tajikistan also began to expel them to their homeland in July.
REVOKE CHINESE STUDENT VISAS, DON’T DOUBLE THEM
On Sept. 1, Afghan journalist and human rights defender Natiq Malikzada shared an account on X of an Afghan Special Forces commando deported from Iran who was killed and returned to his family this week after being subject to torture by the Taliban.
Malikzada told me that the victim was one of 13 Afghans he knows personally who have been killed or disappeared since Iran’s deportation campaign increased this summer.
Beth Bailey (@BWBailey85) is a freelance contributor to Fox News and the host of the Afghanistan Project.