The US State Department also reiterated that repatriating detained Americans abroad remains a top priority for the Trump administration.
Adam Boehler, the US president’s special representative for hostage affairs, has reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to securing the release of Mahmood Habibi and other Americans detained abroad.
Boehler stated on X that it has been 1,000 days since Mahmood Habibi, an Afghan-American, was detained by the Islamic Emirate. He emphasized the US commitment to Habibi’s release and the broader goal of ending “hostage diplomacy.”
He wrote: “Today marks 1000 days since Mahmood Habibi was taken in Afghanistan by the Taliban. We remain committed to securing his release and the freedom of all Americans held captive. End hostage diplomacy.”
The US State Department also reiterated that repatriating detained Americans abroad remains a top priority for the Trump administration.
Although the interim Afghan government has not yet provided any information on Mahmood Habibi’s detention or status, during Trump’s second term, three American citizens— Ryan Corbett, George Glezmann, and Faye Hall —have been released through Qatari mediation.
Salim Paigir, a political analyst, told TOLOnews: “Based on what we know, he is Afghan-origin but holds an American passport and is currently with the Islamic Emirate. If the Emirate, in good faith, hands him over to the Trump administration despite his Afghan heritage, it could positively impact bilateral relations—provided the US also respects the Emirate’s conditions.”
Previously, the US State Department announced that efforts to free American citizens detained in Afghanistan, Russia, and Venezuela are ongoing.
Washington Reaffirms Commitment to Releasing American Hostages
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economy said it is working on several projects to improve the country’s economic conditions.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has raised concerns over the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, stating that nearly one-third of the country’s population is grappling with hunger.
WFP estimates Afghanistan’s population to be around 46 million and says it urgently needs $451 million in funding to continue supporting vulnerable families over the next six months.
At the same time, many laborers and street vendors in the capital voiced worries about the worsening poverty and unemployment, saying they struggle to feed their families.
Wahid, a 23-year-old who runs a small street stand in Kabul, is among thousands of informal vendors compelled to work daily due to lack of job opportunities and economic support.
Wahid told TOLOnews: “I’m not being ungrateful, but I can only earn enough to cover basic household expenses like potatoes, onions, and dry bread.”
Mukhtar, a laborer in Kabul, said: “There is very little work. Many people are unemployed.”
Abdul Nasir Reshtia, an economic analyst, told TOLOnews: “Humanitarian aid, in general, doesn’t have high economic effectiveness—it can only temporarily alleviate poverty. However, if economic aid is channeled into development projects, it can have a more significant impact.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economy said it is working on several projects to improve the country’s economic conditions.
Abdul Latif Nazari, deputy minister of economy, stated: “The international community must continue its assistance to the Afghan people. The Islamic Emirate is also prioritizing employment and infrastructure projects.”
Following the halt of US and other international aid after recent political changes, many global organizations have warned of escalating poverty, unemployment, and hunger in Afghanistan.
WFP: One-Third of Afghanistan’s Population Faces Hunger
The Islamic Emirate must pursue this while maintaining a policy of neutrality.
Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s special representative for Afghanistan, stated that Afghanistan is not a priority for Moscow; however, due to its geographical location and geopolitical interests, it holds significant importance.
In an interview with a Russian media outlet, he also emphasized that establishing normal relations with the Islamic Emirate is in Russia’s interest and that a legal framework should be provided for it.
According to Kabulov, removing the Islamic Emirate from Russia’s list of banned groups is a key condition for initiating official and economic cooperation with Afghanistan.
He stated: “Without removing the Taliban from Russia’s list of banned groups, establishing official relations will not be possible—not only in terms of security institutions, but also in economic and trade sectors.”
“Russia is one of the major political, economic, and military powers in the region and the world. The better relations we have with Russia, the more beneficial it will be for us. Also, in the past three years, Russia has managed to establish good relations with the Islamic Emirate,” said Salim Paygir, a political analyst.
Some experts say that relations with regional and global countries, especially Russia, are necessary not only politically but also economically. The Islamic Emirate must pursue this while maintaining a policy of neutrality.
“Expanding political relations between Russia and Afghanistan is a positive step. It is hoped that in addition to political ties, trade relations will also be developed, so that a suitable solution can be found for Afghanistan’s current challenges, which are mostly political and economic. All efforts must be based on the principle of neutrality,” said Janat Faheem Chakari, another political analyst.
“Whether we accept it or not, Afghanistan, due to the internal policies of the Islamic Emirate or external pressures, has been globally isolated. This isolation is not in Afghanistan’s favor. Therefore, both the Islamic Emirate and the country’s people and merchants need to establish relations, especially if such relations are based on national interests with neighboring, regional, and global countries. It will certainly benefit Afghanistan,” said Aziz Maarej, former diplomat.
These statements come as Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister, said in a meeting with Kabulov in Kabul that the interim government is soon to appoint a diplomat at ambassador level to Moscow.
Kabulov: Afghanistan Not ‘Priority for Russia’ But Geopolitically Important
WASHINGTON (AP) — Negina Khalili’s family sold their house and possessions in Afghanistan and flew to a U.S. base in Qatar in January, preparing for the last step in emigrating to America. Thirteen days later, the Trump administration took office — and suspended the refugee program that would have let them in.
Now they are among a small group of Afghans who advocates say are waiting at a camp in Qatar for permission to one day come to America.
“If they send them back to Afghanistan,” Khalili said, “that will be a huge risk for my family.”
When President Donald Trump returned to the White House, among the numerous immigration-related executive orders he signed was one suspending the country’s refugee program. Thousands of people around the world suddenly found their path cut off — people who had been hoping to emigrate to America through a program that over decades has helped people fleeing war, persecution and strife to come to the United States.
Now they wait and hope.
For those waiting in Qatar, clarity fades
For a small group of Afghans in Qatar, it was especially jarring. They had traveled there before Trump took office, then found themselves stuck with little clarity on what would happen to them in the future, advocates and sources familiar with the situation say.
Shawn VanDiver, the head of #AfghanEvac, an advocacy group that works to help Afghans who offered assistance during America’s two-decade-long war in Afghanistan emigrate to America, said about 1,200 Afghan refugees are at the base in Qatar. That figure was confirmed by a State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
“We brought them there. And it’s on us to figure out what to do with them next. The only right answer is to follow through on what was promised,” VanDiver said.
When the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the U.S. airlifted out tens of thousands of Afghans who’d supported the American efforts. It was a chaotic withdrawal: Desperate Afghans thronged Kabul’s airport hoping for a way out. In the years that followed, as the issue fell from the headlines, the Biden administration continued to relocate tens of thousands of Afghans right up until Biden left office.
There are two main ways Afghans can emigrate to America. The classic example is the military translator who worked directly for the U.S. government and qualifies for the special immigrant visa. Afghans who don’t meet those guidelines but who assisted America’s efforts in Afghanistan and are at risk for it can be referred to refugee programs.
They usually come to the United States through a network of “lilypads” set up under the Biden administration in a few countries around the world. Afghans who passed key steps in a lengthy process to emigrate would travel to these “lilypads” to finish their processing and eventually journey onward to the United States.
In Qatar, they’re housed in a former U.S. military base now run by the State Department. They can’t go off the base unless escorted by a U.S. official.
Many refugees are now shut out
Since Trump returned to office, Afghans can still come through the special immigrant visa process, although they have to pay their own way or get help. But Afghan refugees have been shut out after Trump suspended the program. In Qatar, that has meant waiting and worrying. Similar concerns are playing out in Pakistan, where the Pakistani government has been aggressively pushing Afghan refugees to return home.
One of those in Qatar is Saliha. She’s an Afghan lawyer and part of a generation of women who grew up after the U.S. invasion. These women could go to school and college, and get jobs that took them out into the world.
She opened her own law firm and helped abused women get divorces. After the Taliban retook control, she and her family went into hiding, and she was referred to the refugee program two years ago. Around that time, the Taliban had been going around to her father’s house, trying to find her and saying: “Your daughter helped our wives leave us.” Saliha gave only her first name out of concern for her safety if she and her family were to return to Afghanistan.
She and her family arrived in the Qatar camp in January, hopeful they’d soon be in America. Then came the refugee program suspension.
Saliha said there are classes for the Afghan children, and a park where the kids can play. The men go to the gym together and play soccer; the women often gather to socialize.
She tries to be positive, although she’s heard about other Afghans whose resettlement applications were denied and were given a month to leave the base. That hasn’t happened to her and her family, and she says they’re well-treated. But as they wait for progress, she’s worried.
“We worked hard and sacrificed a lot. We did nothing wrong,” Saliha said. “Our only sin is helping the women of Afghanistan, defend women who had been abused and raped.”
The program is suspended indefinitely, for now
It’s not clear if the Trump administration will resume the refugee program. Right now, it’s suspended indefinitely. Trump requested a report looking at whether to resume it, but those results haven’t been made public.
Advocates for the Afghan refugees stress how much vetting they go through before actually getting to America, and what they did to contribute to the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. VanDiver said within that group of 1,200 in Qatar are 200 relatives of U.S. service members.
Groups that help to resettle refugees have sued to restart the refugee program. An appeals court said the government was within its authority to suspend it, but that a small subset of already-approved refugees should be allowed in.
The administration argued that the already-approved number amounted to only about 160 people worldwide. But Monday, a judge put the number at roughly 12,000 and ordered the government to admit them. It’s not clear how many Afghans are included in this group or how quickly the government will move to comply.
In a statement, the State Department said it was “actively considering the future of our Afghan relocation program” as well as the office specifically tasked with coordinating Afghan relocation efforts.
“No final decisions have been made,” the department said. It also said it continues to provide support to “Afghan allies and partners” overseas.
In the meantime, Afghans trying to get to the United States — and those waiting for them here — wait and worry.
Khalili, a former prosecutor in Afghanistan, fled in the 2021 withdrawal. She worries about what will happen to her father, brother and stepmother and whether they’ll be forced back to Afghanistan. They message back and forth daily.
“They are facing a lot of depression and they don’t know what will happen,” she said. “Every day, I am thinking about my family.”
Santana covers the Department of Homeland Security for The Associated Press. She has extensive experience reporting in such places as Russia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Amiri covers foreign policy and the United Nations as a correspondent for The Associated Press, based in New York.
Can’t go forward, can’t go back: Afghan refugees stuck in Qatar wait for a way forward
A U.S. Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to resume processing Afghan refugee cases starting May 12, 2025.
The U.S. Supreme Court judge has directed the Trump administration to resume processing Afghan refugee immigration cases as of May 12. This ruling includes programs like the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), resettlement initiatives, and travel approvals for refugees.
Shawn VanDiver, head of the Afghan Evac, celebrated the ruling as a significant victory for America’s Afghan allies. He stressed that if the Trump administration complies, this will mark a meaningful step forward.
The Supreme Court’s order specifically demands the cancellation of the suspension on accepting refugees under the U.S. immigration program. This decision is set to go into effect from May 12. The court emphasized that the administration should begin processing cases immediately.
Furthermore, the ruling mandates the resumption of refugee processing at all levels, including U.S. embassies, reinstating funding, access to structures, and restoring contracts related to refugee assistance programs.
Additionally, the Trump administration has been ordered to begin the relocation and transfer of refugees under protection, starting with expired medical and security clearance certificates. This is a critical aspect of the broader resumption process.
Starting on May 19, the U.S. government must inform all refugees under its protection that their cases are being reinstated and actively moving forward. This order underscores the urgency of re-engaging with the refugee resettlement process.
The ruling further mandates that the U.S. government facilitates travel and medical examinations for refugees through the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The process should be re-established as soon as possible to ensure the smooth flow of operations.
Finally, the administration is required to support independent travel and medical procedures for refugees, ensuring that individuals are free to continue their journey to the U.S. without hindrance.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision comes after President Donald Trump, in January of this year, issued executive orders suspending all refugee admissions, transfers, and resettlement processes. However, it remains unclear whether the Trump administration will comply with the court’s order. The White House has not yet commented on the matter.
This ruling marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing debate surrounding U.S. immigration and refugee policies. While the court’s decision is a significant win for Afghan refugees, its implementation remains uncertain, especially given the administration’s previous stance on immigration.
The outcome will likely have a lasting impact on U.S. refugee policy, particularly concerning Afghan allies, and may influence future legal challenges and political negotiations regarding refugee resettlement.
US Supreme Court orders resumption of Afghan Refugee Cases starting May 12
UN Women calls for urgent support for Afghan women, emphasizing the need for safe spaces, legal aid, and professional training.
The United Nations Women’s Division has reiterated its commitment to addressing the systemic barriers faced by women and girls in Afghanistan. The organization emphasized that these women occupy a central role in its programs, calling for targeted support to overcome obstacles. This includes providing safe spaces, legal aid, and professional education, as part of a broader strategy to promote gender equality.
In a statement released on May 6, the UN Women’s Division highlighted the importance of gender-specific assistance for Afghan women. The memo also underscored the need to support women-led businesses, recognizing their contributions as a vital factor for economic improvement and sustainability in Afghanistan.
The organization expressed its deep concern over the escalating restrictions imposed on Afghan women and girls. Currently, these women are deprived of basic rights such as education, employment, and participation in public life, a situation exacerbated by the policies of the Taliban.
According to recent reports, over 70% of Afghan women face significant challenges in accessing humanitarian aid. The Taliban’s strict regulations have further constrained women’s participation in public and professional spheres, resulting in widespread hardships for Afghan women.
Despite these challenges, the UN remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting Afghan women’s rights and fostering gender equity in the region. The organization continues to advocate for policy changes that would allow these women to regain their rights and play an active role in Afghanistan’s social, economic, and political spheres.
The United Nations stresses that the international community must intensify efforts to address these injustices. Supporting Afghan women is not only a matter of human rights but is also crucial for the long-term peace and stability of the country. The situation remains dire, but global collaboration can help restore the rights and dignity of Afghan women and girls.
UN urges immediate support for Afghanistan’s women amid rising challegnes
Lack of shelter and job opportunities are their fundamental challenges. These families are preparing to return to their respective provinces.
With the rise in deportation of Afghan migrants from neighboring countries, a camp in the 11th district of Kabul city has become a gathering point for hundreds of families.
These families residing in the camp have returned to their homeland empty-handed after living for years in Pakistan and Iran. They now face an uncertain future.
Lack of shelter and job opportunities are their fundamental challenges. These families are preparing to return to their respective provinces.
Hijratullah, a returnee from Pakistan, told TOLOnews: “We are going to Kunduz, but our future there is uncertain. The education of our children is another concern we have.”
Mohammad Jan, another returnee from Pakistan, said: “We need financial aid to build a shelter. We are facing many problems.”
These migrants, who have spent 40 to 50 years in Pakistan, cite lack of housing, limited job opportunities, and poverty as their main challenges.
Nisar Ahmad, who returned to the country after 45 years, said: “We are going to Khanabad district of Kunduz. We have neither land nor shelter there.”
Farzana, a deportee from Pakistan, said: “We don’t own land and my husband is still abroad. Now we are forced to live in a rental house. We want land and a place to live.”
It is noteworthy that currently, between 800 to 1,000 migrants arrive daily at this camp from neighboring countries, including Iran and Pakistan. The authorities at Baba Jan Camp said efforts are being made to facilitate returnees.
Abulais, the security officer of Lawai Baba Jan camp, said: “We have made arrangements in this camp. We provide tents and blankets, food is also prepared for them, and there is a health section with both male and female doctors.”
Meanwhile, the UNHCR reported that in the month of April, more than 280,000 Afghans have been deported from Pakistan and Iran.
Uncertain Futures: Afghan Deportees Struggle to Rebuild Lives in Kabul Camp
The Chamber of Commerce and Investment stated that this situation has added more pressure to Afghanistan’s economy.
Fresh tensions between India and Pakistan have posed challenges to Afghanistan’s trade, resulting in the halt of export shipments at regional ports.
The Chamber of Commerce and Investment stated that this situation has added more pressure to Afghanistan’s economy.
Khan Jan Alokozay, a board member of the Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said: “The situation is damaging. In addition to the fact that Afghan goods have become more expensive in India due to limited supply and high demand—since Indian people like Afghanistan’s fresh and dried fruits—this is a serious issue. We call on the governments of Pakistan and India to separate transit and trade issues from political and security matters.”
The Ministry of Economy also expressed concerns regarding the direct impact of India-Pakistan tensions on Afghanistan’s economy.
Abdul Latif Nazari, deputy minister of economy, said: “Tensions in India-Pakistan relations negatively impact Afghanistan’s economic situation. Afghanistan’s essential goods were imported through the Wagah border, and with increased tensions, this process can undoubtedly cause serious harm to Afghanistan’s imports and exports.”
Meanwhile, some experts suggest that Afghanistan can increasingly utilize Iran’s Chabahar Port to continue trade with India.
Mir Shaker Yaqubi, an economic expert, said: “Given the regional situation—especially the tensions between India and Pakistan—the conditions are now favorable for using Chabahar Port as an alternative to Wagah. We can significantly increase trade through this port, which is a golden opportunity for Afghanistan.”
At the same time, following the escalation of tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad, officials from Afghanistan’s interim government and representatives of the private sector have called for regional dialogue to reduce the crisis and prevent further damage to the region’s economic interests.
Sayedyaqoob Qattali moved to Houston with his family after legally entering the United States in late 2023.
Sayedyaqoob Qattali
HOUSTON — Sayedyaqoob Qattali spent years aiding U.S. forces as a security commander for the Afghan Interior Ministry in Herat province. He was caught there when Afghanistan’s government fell to the Taliban in August 2021 and was unable to get U.S. help to evacuate.
“I went to Iran, and I applied for Brazil, [to get a] humanitarian visa. That was just the option that was left. Then, after one year, I got the visa, humanitarian visa,” Qattali said.
What happened next was an odyssey. From Brazil, he and his family went to Peru, then to Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and finally Mexico. Most of the time, they walked.
“In all these countries, we got … the legal paper that [said] we can stay there,” Qattali said.
When they arrived in Mexico in November of 2023, Qattali and his family used the CBP One app to apply for U.S. humanitarian parole.
“Some of [the] people … they were waiting one, two, three months,” Qattali said. “And, fortunately, we received an appointment after two days.”
Qattali and his family entered the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry between Tijuana and San Diego. They came to Houston, getting relocation help from the Houston-based veterans organization Combined Arms.
Qattali speaks seven languages. He got a job as an apartment leasing agent, where his language skills enabled him to help fellow Afghans settle into the community. And he enrolled his two children in a charter school.
Initially, that wasn’t a problem for Qattali, as he and his family were already settled in the U.S. and had begun applying for asylum.
That changed last month.
“Unfortunately,” he said, “we got an email … that you have to leave. We have like seven days. After that, they’re going to charge … $900 per day.”
“I have … a threatening letter,” Qattali said. “If I go back, like, 100% they’re going to kill me and my family as well.”
Khalil Yarzada, a former interpreter for U.S. and NATO forces, now heads a program with the Houston-based veterans group Combined Arms, which helps Afghans who aided U.S. forces to settle in the United States.
Andrew Schneider
“We don’t feel safe”
Even Afghans who have legal permanent residency in the U.S. worry what Trump’s policies mean for them.
Muhammad Amiri is a former pilot trainee with the Afghan air force who found himself stranded in the United Arab Emirates when the Taliban took Kabul.
Amiri managed to get to the United States on what’s known as a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), a status for which individuals who fought and worked alongside U.S. forces in Afghanistan are eligible and which can lead to permanent legal status.
Four months ago, Amiri received his green card.
“The words cannot express just my feeling,” Amiri said. “It was out of my control. I started crying, and the tears were coming, just without any control. And just, I thanked God.”
Amiri has had several jobs since coming to the U.S. He’s currently a security supervisor at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and he’s taking IT courses with the goal of getting a job working as a computer help desk associate. He also recently got engaged.
But Amiri’s fiancée is still in Afghanistan, and until his legal situation is settled, he doesn’t dare leave the U.S. to see her, for fear he might not be allowed to return.
Indeed, he worries even his green card won’t protect him in the current political climate in the U.S.
“It doesn’t matter just how you got here,” Amiri said. “We don’t feel safe, and we don’t feel good because now, we feel threatened, if they send us back to our country, it will be the same story. [We] feel threatened to be tortured, maybe be killed by [the] Taliban.”
“As unfortunate as it sounds,” Zakaria said, “my first advice to all my clients — and my family and friends — is that, if you’re not a U.S. citizen, do not talk or post on your social media anything that’s negative about the current administration. Do not voice your opinion. Do not engage in any protest, because you will be targeted by this administration for revocation of your status.”
The end of Enduring Welcome and temporary protected status
Roughly 200,000 Afghan immigrants and refugees came to the U.S. after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021. That includes about 10,000 in Greater Houston.
Sayedyaqoob Qattali served as a security commander with the Afghan Interior Ministry in Herat province, Afghanistan, before the Afghan government fell to the Taliban in August 2021.
Sayedyaqoob Qattali
While some of them have since received green cards or even U.S. citizenship, many have more tenuous legal status, such as humanitarian parole or temporary protected status (TPS).
TPS is a program that allows individuals from countries where their lives might be in danger — due to wars or natural disasters — to legally live and work in the United States until it is safe for them to return home.
The current TPS for Afghans began in September 2023 and extends through May 20 of this year.
Afghans who are here on TPS got a shock in April when Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that she would not be renewing the protection when it expires.
After that, any Afghans in the U.S. under the program will be at risk of deportation to Afghanistan.
“Everyone I speak to is concerned that if this protection is revoked, a lot of people’s lives are going to be in danger,” said Khalil Yarzada, a former Afghan translator for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan who became a U.S. citizen in February. “A lot of people are going to see a target on their back.”
U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, is the former chair of both the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee.
In March, he and two otherRepublican representatives sent a joint letter to President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Noem urging them not to end the Enduring Welcome program.
“Such a decision would abandon over 200,000 wartime allies and have lasting consequences for America’s global credibility, military operations, and veterans,” McCaul and his House colleagues wrote. “The Taliban considers anyone who worked with the U.S. to be an enemy. They are being hunted, detained, and executed. Over 3,200 documented killings and disappearances of former Afghan military personnel, interpreters, and U.S. government partners has already occurred.”
The reasons for the policy change
Zakaria, the Houston immigration attorney, thinks the president’s motivation for ending programs like TPS for Afghans is because of his campaign pledge to enact mass deportations when he took office.
“What the Trump administration’s policy [is] at this moment is to create this mass group that can be deported,” Zakaria said, “and one way is to cancel the existing legal protocols or legal protections that are in place, and thus making those people unlawfully here, and then deport them.”
Ali Zakaria is an immigration attorney based in West Houston.
Andrew Schneider
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS,) issued the following statement explaining the decision to end TPS for Afghans:
“Secretary Noem made the decision to terminate TPS for individuals from Afghanistan because the country’s improved security situation and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country,” McLaughlin wrote. “Additionally, the termination furthers the national interest and the statutory provision that TPS is in fact designed to be temporary. Additionally, DHS records indicate that there are Afghan nationals who are TPS recipients who have been the subject of administrative investigations for fraud, public safety, and national security.”
NPR reached out to two of the staunchest critics of former President Joe Biden’s handling of Afghanistan, Congressman McCaul and Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, for their reactions to the approaching end of TPS for Afghans.
Cornyn did not respond to repeated requests for comment. McCaul sent the following statement:
“From the Houthis in Yemen to the cartels on our coasts, the Trump administration is taking decisive action to root out terrorism and make our world safer,” McCaul wrote. “The Taliban, however, have made their thirst for retribution against those who helped the United States clear. Until they demonstrate clear behavioral changes, I urge the administration to continue prioritizing the safety of the Afghan men and women who risked their lives to help our troops.”
The last two Congresses have taken up a bill called the Afghan Adjustment Act, aimed at speeding up the path to permanent legal status for Afghans who aided U.S. forces during the war and expanding the eligibility for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs).
The measure died at the end of 2022 and 2024, and the current Congress has yet to refile the bill.
“Personally, I would like to see that happen yesterday,” said Yarzada, who heads the SIVs and Allies Program at Combined Arms. “The SIVs have given so much of their life, of their livelihood, to be in a place where they are, and I think it is our duty as Americans to support them, to give them a fair shot, a fair chance to be able to build a life here in the United States, because this is the most American thing that we can do.”
Many Afghans living in the U.S. fear being tortured or killed if they get deported
Heather Barr is urging the international community to take practical steps to address the educational crisis facing Afghan girls.
Human Rights Watch said that the ban on education for girls beyond the sixth grade and their access to higher education has created widespread challenges for Afghan women and girls over the past four years.
The deputy director of the women’s rights division at Human Rights Watch is urging the international community to take practical steps to address the educational crisis facing Afghan girls.
Heather Barr said: “The ban of education beyond sixth grade, the ban of medical education, the ban of higher education, the moments that pass when there are graduation days, Kankor exams, which women and girls are not able to participate in. And the important thing to say about this is that while obviously this is causing devastating harm to every girl who’s affected by this and every young woman and their families, it’s also causing devastating and permanent harm to the entire country.”
Tafsir Siyahpush, a women’s rights activist, said: “If this continues for more than three or nearly four years, we may have no teachers, no doctors. There will be thousands of other things we might lack. Women will remain excluded. And be assured: if women are not in leadership, half of society is missing. Our future, not just for women but for Afghanistan as a whole, will not be better.”
A number of university students in the country also say that due to the education ban, they are living in uncertainty and that serious attention is needed.
Marwa, a student, said: “I was studying administration and business, but after the second semester, the university was closed. My grades were high, and I was passionate about the field. I dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur and starting my own company.”
Sabria, another student, said: “My request is that the parties come together, negotiate, and reach an agreement so that the doors of schools and universities are reopened to Afghan girls.”
According to UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, a total of 2.2 million girls in Afghanistan have been deprived of education due to these restrictions, 400,000 of whom have been affected just in the current year.
UNICEF has warned that if the ban continues until 2030, over 4 million girls will be deprived of their right to education.
HRW: Ban on Girls’ Education Creating Widespread Challenges
Afghanistan Peace Campaign
