The Taliban administration has voiced serious concern over a reported United States plan to deport more than 150 Afghan citizens to Afghanistan via Pakistan, according to US media reports and an advocacy group. The concern was formally conveyed in a statement issued on Monday by Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi, who said the group facing deportation includes people who could not obtain legal residency documents in Pakistan. Reports say the group also includes relatives of Afghans who assisted US forces before the 2021 withdrawal, making the planned removals an unusually sensitive case in the already complicated relationship between Washington, Islamabad and Kabul.

The reported plan has emerged through coverage by US media outlets and has been highlighted by an advocacy group working on the issue, with My Republica and Khabarhub also reporting on the developments.

Balkhi voices 'serious concern' over deportation plan

In the statement released on Monday, Balkhi said the Foreign Ministry was expressing serious concern over the US plan to deport the Afghan citizens. He said the group includes people who were unable to obtain legal residency documents in Pakistan, a point that underlines the precarious status many Afghans in the country hold years after fleeing their homeland.

The spokesperson also drew attention to the composition of the group, noting that among those facing removal are relatives of Afghans who had assisted US forces prior to the 2021 withdrawal. The ministry's decision to comment publicly on the matter signals that Kabul is following the fate of the deportees closely, even as the Taliban government remains diplomatically isolated and unrecognized by the United States and most of the international community.

Further details of the plan, including when the deportations would be carried out and where the Afghans are currently being held, were not immediately clear from the reports.

Who is affected by the reported plan

While the full list of those affected has not been made public, the available reports point to several defining features of the group:

  • More than 150 Afghan citizens are reported to be facing deportation under the US plan.
  • The removals would be carried out to Afghanistan, routed via Pakistan.
  • The group includes people who could not obtain legal residency documents in Pakistan, leaving them without regularized status.
  • It also includes relatives of Afghans who assisted US forces before the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
  • The plan came to light through US media reports and was raised by an advocacy group.

The inclusion of family members of people who once worked with American forces gives the case particular weight. Afghans with ties to the US-led mission have been among the most vulnerable groups since the collapse of the previous government, and many spent years in limbo in neighboring countries while awaiting relocation or resettlement opportunities that never materialized.

Background: the 2021 withdrawal and a long displacement crisis

The United States and its international partners completed their military withdrawal from Afghanistan at the end of August 2021, ending two decades of war as the Taliban returned to power. In the chaotic final days of the withdrawal, tens of thousands of Afghans were evacuated by US forces and their allies, while many more fled overland to neighboring countries, particularly Pakistan and Iran.

Pakistan, which has hosted Afghan refugees for more than four decades, has in recent years increasingly pressed Afghans without valid paperwork to leave the country. Large numbers of Afghans who arrived after the Taliban takeover have struggled to obtain legal residency documents, leaving them exposed to detention and deportation. It is from this population of undocumented Afghans that the group now facing removal is reported to have been drawn, according to Balkhi's statement.

The reported US deportation plan adds another layer to the uncertainty facing Afghans who left their country after 2021. Those who could not secure legal status in Pakistan have found themselves with few options, caught between restrictive asylum policies abroad, tightening enforcement at home in the region, and the difficulty of proving their cases to immigration authorities.

Uncertainty over what comes next

For now, key questions surrounding the plan remain unanswered, including the exact timeline for the deportations, the legal basis on which the removals are being pursued, and what awaits the more than 150 Afghans once they arrive back in Afghanistan. The advocacy group that helped bring the case to light and the US media reports on the matter have focused attention on the group's circumstances, particularly the presence of relatives of former US allies among the deportees.

The Taliban government's response, delivered through Balkhi's Monday statement, marks the most concrete public reaction to the plan so far. Kabul's Foreign Ministry framed its intervention around the concern for the Afghan citizens involved, while emphasizing the documentation problems that many of them faced in Pakistan.

As the situation develops, attention is likely to remain on whether the deportations proceed as reported, how Pakistan handles the transit of the group, and what reception awaits the Afghans upon their return. The case highlights the continuing fallout from the 2021 withdrawal, years after the last US forces left Afghan soil, for the people whose lives were upended by it.