The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to deport Afghan refugees from a US-supported facility in Qatar to Pakistan as early as Monday, despite fears that some could later be forced back to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, according to Anadolu.
The possible deportation flight has not been officially announced. But rights advocates and relatives of detainees told NBC News that it could take place within days. The refugees have been living at Camp As Sayliyah near Doha after fleeing Afghanistan, many following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
The plan has deepened anxiety among families who say they left Afghanistan because of threats from the Taliban and now fear being sent to a country that may not protect them. Pakistan has previously deported Afghan nationals back across the border, raising concerns that refugees sent there could ultimately be returned to Afghanistan.
The State Department had initially said all residents would leave Camp As Sayliyah by 31 March. That deadline was later moved to 30 September. In September, the administration postponed the camp’s closure by another nine months, leaving residents in prolonged uncertainty.
Earlier this year, officials also considered transferring some Afghan refugees to the Democratic Republic of Congo, even though an Ebola outbreak had been reported there. That proposal was widely criticised by humanitarian groups.
AfghanEvac, an organisation supporting Afghan refugees, condemned the reported plan. It accused the administration of moving forward while public attention was fixed on next week’s US midterm elections.
“The government won’t say where these flights land, because it knows what happens to the people on them when they do,” the group said. “A government confident in what it is doing does not hide it.”
The organisation warned that deportation to Pakistan could place vulnerable Afghans including people who worked with US forces, journalists, women’s rights activists and their families at serious risk.
Neither the US government nor Pakistani authorities has publicly confirmed the destination or timing of any flight. The State Department has also not explained what legal protections, screening procedures or guarantees against onward removal would apply.
For the refugees at Camp As Sayliyah, the reported plan represents another turn in years of waiting. They fled one war, found temporary shelter in Qatar, and now face the possibility of being sent onwards to a country where safety is far from certain.
As the deadline approaches, advocates are urging Washington to halt any removal until it can guarantee that no Afghan refugee will be returned to the country they escaped.
