US moves to deport Afghan refugees to Pakistan: the Qatar camp and the Taliban risk
The US administration is preparing to send Afghan refugees to Pakistan, with a first flight possible as early as Monday. The camp figures, the return risk and the timeline — verified facts only.
The US administration is reported to be preparing to deport a group of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers to Pakistan. The flight, the first of its kind, could take place as early as Monday, according to reports published on October 31.
The Qatar camp
The refugees would be sent from Camp As Sayliyah, a US-run facility in Qatar, where more than 1,000 Afghans awaiting resettlement in the US have been stranded since Donald Trump returned to office. As of July the camp held 287 men, 319 women and 433 children — 1,039 people in total.
The return risk
Humanitarian groups fear the refugees could be returned from Pakistan to Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Pakistan has been forcing Afghans out in a sweeping crackdown since 2023, forcibly deporting some of them.
You don't have to be that smart to figure out that they're sending them to Pakistan so that Pakistan will finish the job.
— Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac
The timeline
The State Department initially announced everyone would be removed from the facility by March 31, then extended the deadline to September 30. In September the administration postponed the camp's closure by a further nine months. According to AfghanEvac, at least 80 Afghans have been moved to an immigration facility in Louisiana.
