Lawmakers announce legislation to restore office for Afghan relocation

August 21, 2025 Current News Articles

By Riley Ceder

Military Times

Aug 20, 2025

Lawmakers introduced new legislation Tuesday that would reinstate a previously dissolved U.S. government office that led relocation efforts for Afghan allies and refugees.

Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif. — along with several other lawmakers — announced the Enduring Welcome Act, which would legally codify the Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, or CARE. The Trump administration closed the office just last month.

“We will not turn our backs on the brave Afghans who risked everything to protect our service members,” said Kamlager-Dove in a press release. “Their courage helped save American lives, and now it is our duty to protect theirs.”

Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., Dina Titus, D-Nev. and Michael McCaul, R-Texas, assisted with the bill.

CARE handled planning and logistics for the relocation of Afghans who qualified for Special Immigrant Visas, Immigrant Visas and the United States Refugee Assistant Program, or USRAP.

Special Immigrant Visas are granted to Afghans who were employed by the U.S. government, often assisting the U.S. during the war in Afghanistan.

Operation Enduring Welcome, a program instituted by the Biden administration and implemented by CARE, helps to relocate Afghan nationals who are endangered because of their affiliation with the U.S. government. The program is set to end Sept. 30.

The new legislation reinstitutes the CARE office within the U.S. State Department for five years and awards it the authority to assist with voluntary departure requests from Afghans; help coordinating with other agencies on security vetting, facilitating relocation and helping reunite families — including those of U.S. service members; and assisting with medical care.

It also tasks CARE with keeping a database that tracks all Afghan relocation cases.

Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac — an organization that works with government agencies and volunteer groups to help relocate Afghans — said that the inclusion of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle spoke volumes.

“A bipartisan introduction here demonstrates that Congress and the administration don’t agree on this,” VanDiver told Military Times. “The administration is actually still working through what their policy is gonna be… It seems like they should have figured that out before they stopped a bunch of things, but they didn’t.”

That’s why the legislation is important, he said.

The Enduring Welcome Act isn’t the only current legislation aimed at honoring the United States’ commitment to its Afghan allies.

Congressman Jason Crow, D-Colo., a former Army Ranger who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, introduced the Afghan Adjustment Act on Aug. 5.

The legislation would create a pathway for Afghans in the United States to obtain lawful permanent residence status.

Both proposed laws likely face a long path toward approval, but VanDiver said he expects a Senate introduction for the Enduring Welcome Act soon.

In May, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced the end of temporary protected status, or TPS, for Afghanistan, stating that the region’s “improved security” meant individuals could move back without fear for their safety.

TPS, which was instituted during the Biden administration to protect Afghans from being deported back to their home nation after the U.S. withdrawal in 2021, ended July 14.

The end of TPS affects 9,000 people, including their authorization to work, according to the International Rescue Committee, an organization that helps provide humanitarian relief.

Advocates and U.S. service members openly disagreed with Noem and DHS’s evaluation of safety in the region when the announcement was made.

“Afghanistan remains under the control of the Taliban,” VanDiver said in a statement at the time. “There are still assassinations, arbitrary arrests and ongoing human rights abuses, especially against women and ethnic minorities.”

Afghan relocation efforts stopped completely when President Trump suspended USRAP on Jan. 20.

The same day, Trump issued an executive order that halted travel for individuals with Special Immigrant Visas.

“There has not been a single relocation flight for Afghans since Jan. 20, 2025,” VanDiver said.

AfghanEvac estimates that 150,000 to 250,000 Afghans are currently attempting to immigrate to the U.S.

The ban also affects U.S. service members.

Military personnel with family members currently in Afghanistan told Military Times in February that they feared for their kin, who were actively being hunted by the Taliban because of their affiliation with the U.S. government.

Roughly 200 family members of U.S. troops are caught in resettlement purgatory, AfghanEvac stated.

Trump promised at a White House event on July 30 that U.S. officials would help Afghan allies relocate to the U.S., while casting doubt on the motives of some in the immigration pipeline.

“We know the good ones, and we know the ones that maybe aren’t so good,” Trump said in response to a question about Afghan refugees. “We’re going to take care of those people, the ones that did a job [for us], the ones that were told certain things.”

Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.

China, Afghanistan hold talks on mining, Belt and Road participation

August 21, 2025 Current News Articles

By Reuters

August 20, 2025

KABUL, Aug 20 (Reuters) – China told Afghanistan on Wednesday that Beijing was keen on exploring and mining minerals in Afghanistan and wanted Kabul to formally join its Belt and Road Initiative, the Afghan Taliban foreign ministry said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is visiting Kabul and held talks with Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, the ministry said in a statement, adding that both countries wanted to expand cooperation in a range of areas.

Beijing will continue to support the Afghan government to achieve long-term peace and stability, Wang told Muttaqi, according to a readout of the meeting released by China’s foreign ministry.

China was willing to deepen mutual political trust with Afghanistan and step up cooperation in areas including trade and agriculture, Wang said.

He called on Afghanistan to combat militant forces, adding that tighter security ties would provide a guarantee for bilateral economic cooperation.

“Mr. Wang Yi also mentioned that China intends to initiate practical mining activities this year,” the Afghan statement said.

In a separate meeting with the Afghan Taliban prime minister, Mohammad Hassan Akhund, Wang said “China will continue to uphold justice, oppose unilateral bullying, and engage in cooperation in various fields with Afghanistan”.

Wang urged Akhund’s government to take seriously Chinese concerns over “terrorist forces” and step up efforts to combat them, according to a readout of the meeting from Wang’s ministry.

China was the first country to appoint an ambassador to Afghanistan under the Taliban and has sought to develop its ties with the hardline Islamist group that took control of the war-torn country in 2021.

The impoverished country, rich in lithium, copper and iron deposits, could offer a wealth of mineral resources to boost Beijing’s supply chain security, analysts say.

Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar. Writing by Sudipto Ganguly. Editing by YP Rajesh and Mark Potter

‘Economic suicide’: Afghan expulsions spark labor crisis in Iran

August 21, 2025 Current News Articles

Maryam Sinaiee

Iran International

Aug 20, 2025

Iran’s economy is reeling from an acute labor shortage following the mass deportation of undocumented Afghan migrants, with key industries such as construction and agriculture struggling to function.

For decades, Afghans have formed the backbone of Iran’s low-wage workforce, filling jobs few Iranians were willing to take.

Their sudden absence now threatens both growth and jobs.

Conservative economist Mohammad-Hossein Mesbah called the push to send Afghans home “economic suicide.”

“Abbasabad industrial town [south of Tehran] was almost entirely closed today,” he posted on X. “Why? Shortage of labor. Job ads everywhere … Not a single worker to be found.”

From open borders to expulsions

Before the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, the Afghan population in Iran rarely exceeded two million, including about 780,000 with official refugee status. Under former President Ebrahim Raisi’s “open borders” policy, that number surged to more than seven million.

President Masoud Pezeshkian has since reversed course under public pressure.

Following Iran’s recent 12-day conflict with Israel, the government accelerated the deportation of undocumented Afghans, linking some expulsions to national security.

Officials say more than one million migrants have left in the past 100 days, though an estimated six million remain—four million without legal status.

The government has vowed to enforce labor laws, including fines of around $20 per day for undocumented workers, doubling for repeat offenses. Yet enforcement remains patchy in sectors long dependent on informal labor.

*Iran has sent back more than a million Afghans to Afghanistan in the past few months*

Afghans’ role in the Iranian workforce

According to the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, 433,000 registered Afghan workers were active as of June 2025—roughly 2 percent of the total labor force.

More than half worked in construction, while others were employed in industry (19 percent), agriculture (11 percent), and mining (less than 1 percent).

A Chamber of Commerce study noted that Afghans, once concentrated in unskilled jobs, had increasingly moved into skilled and technical roles.

Their disappearance is now raising alarms about productivity and output across the economy.

Industry and construction hit hardest

The owner of an industrial workshop in Boumehen, near Tehran, told Shargh newspaper that even legally employed Afghans have left in fear. “We still haven’t found replacements, and nobody responds to our job ads,” he said.

Construction has been hit hardest.

In 2024, estimates suggested that Afghans made up three-quarters of Iran’s 1.5 million construction workers, and nearly half of those in Tehran.

With deportations underway, projects have stalled, and labor costs have jumped by 30–50 percent. The spike is expected to push housing costs even further out of reach.

Rising costs for food and services

Agriculture has also been disrupted. Farmers report delays in harvesting summer fruits and other perishable produce, including pistachios and saffron—two of Iran’s top non-oil exports.

Higher labor costs threaten to drive up food prices at a time when inflation is already high.

Urban services are showing strain as well.

In Tehran, the deportation of hundreds of Afghan street cleaners employed by municipal contractors has left piles of garbage and recyclables in some neighborhoods. Overflowing trash has become a visible sign of how deeply the deportations are reshaping daily life.

Some contractors have lost up to 80 percent of their workforce, according to city official Naser Amani.

Effort to Revive Afghan Relocations to US Garners Bipartisan Support

August 20, 2025 Current News Articles

By Rebecca Kheel

Military.com

Published August 19, 2025

Afghan evacuees exit a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III at NAS Sigonella

Afghan evacuees exit a U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III at Naval Air Station Sigonella during Operation Allies Refuge Aug. 22, 2021. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Daniel M. Young)

A program to relocate vulnerable Afghans, including allies who helped the U.S. during the war and families of American service members, that was dismantled by the Trump administration would be reestablished under a bipartisan bill introduced Tuesday.

The Enduring Welcome Act would revive the Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, or CARE, which was established after the 2021 military withdrawal from Afghanistan to help resettle Afghans fleeing the Taliban and was shuttered by the State Department earlier this year.

“Honoring our commitments to our Afghan allies should never be a partisan issue, but a matter of moral responsibility, national honor and global credibility,” Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., said in a statement Tuesday about introducing the bill. “With this bipartisan bill, we are sending a clear and unified message: The United States keeps its promises.”n addition to Kamlager-Dove, the bill is sponsored by Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas; Mike Lawler, R-N.Y.; and Dina Titus, D-Nev. All four are members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and McCaul is its former chairman.

The bill is also co-sponsored by 12 other Democrats and three other Republicans.

The bill’s introduction comes during the four-year anniversary of the U.S. military evacuation of Afghanistan. After Kabul fell to the Taliban on Aug. 15, 2021, the military spent the next two weeks evacuating as many U.S. citizens and vulnerable Afghan civilians as possible before the last American troops departed.

While thousands of Afghans who helped the U.S. war effort or whose lives were otherwise threatened by the Taliban were evacuated, thousands more were left behind. The Biden administration created CARE in 2022 to streamline continued relocation efforts.

Last year, Congress passed a law mandating that the State Department appoint a coordinator for Afghan relocation efforts, though the law did not require the entire CARE office.

Relocation efforts froze almost immediately after President Donald Trump took office in January as a result of several executive orders, including ones to halt refugee admissions and foreign aid programs.

Then, as part of a broader reorganization, the State Department announced in May it was scrapping CARE, and in July, the office’s leaders were part of the department’s mass firings. Despite those moves, the State Department has maintained that ongoing relocations will be handled by the department’s Afghan affairs office.

Last month, Trump also twice promised to protect Afghans who helped U.S. troops during the war.

“We’re going to take care of those people, the ones that did a job, the ones that were told certain things,” Trump told reporters last month.

But flights of Afghans awaiting relocation to the United States have not resumed. Additionally, the Trump administration is seeking to deport at least two Afghans who worked with the American military and fled to the U.S.

Bipartisan sponsorship of the bill introduced Tuesday represents one of the few times Republicans have gone on the record to oppose a Trump administration action and support a concrete effort to reverse that action.

Still, it’s unclear whether the bipartisan support will be enough to power the bill through Congress. A separate measure to strengthen legal protections for Afghans, known as the Afghan Adjustment Act, has stalled for years despite bipartisan support.

In addition to restoring the CARE program, the bill introduced Tuesday would solidify the office’s functions. That includes “addressing family reunification barriers, including cases involving United States active-duty service members and veterans,” according to the bill text.

#AfghanEvac, a coalition of organizations that help resettle Afghans, has estimated that more than 200 U.S. service members have family members stranded abroad awaiting relocation to the United States.

The bill would also require the State Department to create a database of Afghans in the relocation pipeline “to inform operations and ensure transparency,” the bill says.

Under the bill, the CARE office would sunset in five years, while the database would be permanent.

“Our Afghan allies fought and bled alongside U.S. troops, and in return they were promised our protection,” McCaul, who led an investigation of the withdrawal, said in a statement. “Yet as my Afghanistan report revealed, tens of thousands were abandoned during the chaotic withdrawal, left to face horrific violence and reprisal killings at the hands of the Taliban — all because they chose to help us. I’m proud to co-lead the Enduring Welcome Act to honor our promise, stand by those who stood by us, and telegraph a clear message of American strength and credibility throughout the world.”

More Than 70 Afghans Returning From Iran Die in Fiery Bus Crash

August 20, 2025 Current News Articles

By Yaqoob Akbary, Elian Peltier and Safiullah Padshah

Yaqoob Akbary reported from Kabul, Afghanistan.

The New York Times

Aug. 20, 2025

More than 70 Afghans died in a bus accident in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday, local officials said, after the vehicle collided with a truck and a motorbike in Herat Province, on the border with Iran. It was one of countless buses that have been ferrying Afghan refugees expelled en masse from Iran this year.

Of the 78 people killed, 71 were bus passengers returning from Iran and 17 were children, Ahmadullah Muttaqi, a provincial communication official, said.

About 1.8 million Afghan nationals who lived in Iran for years, some for decades, have been expelled from Iran or forcibly returned to Afghanistan this year as Iranian officials have vowed to expel undocumented nationals.

The returning Afghans, many of whom fled after the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan in 2021, have come back to a changed country where most women can’t work, girls can’t go to school beyond sixth grade and more than half of the population of 41 million is in need of humanitarian assistance.

More than 1.2 million people have returned just since June, most of them dropped off at a border crossing in Herat Province. Shortly after its war with Israel in May, Iran began accusing Afghans of spying on behalf of Israel and ramped up mass expulsions.

Most of the deportations have followed the same pattern that has left countless Afghans confused and in a state of shock, according to two dozen returning Afghans and aid workers interviewed by New York Times journalists who visited the border last month.

In Iran, Afghans who have been arrested at home or at their workplace have been sent to deportation centers, where buses then drive them to the Afghan side of the border. Afterward, they have trudged their belongings to a transit center managed by the Afghan authorities and United Nations agencies.

Once they have registered as returnees and received a stipend, Afghans usually board buses commissioned by the Afghan government and bound for Herat, the province’s capital, or Kabul, 18 hours away.

It was a bus bound for Kabul that crashed Tuesday night. The treacherous two-lane road it used is regularly battered by sandstorms, making it hard to spot opposing traffic.

A video shared on X by Etilaatroz, an Afghan news outlet, showed rescue workers trying to put out flames spewing out of a charred bus. Most of the victims were from the provinces of Kapisa, Parwan and Ghazni, all in the vicinity of Kabul, according to a list released by Mr. Muttaqi.

The victims’ bodies were transferred to Kabul on Wednesday.

Many returning Afghans arrive without jobs and often without a house awaiting them. In Kabul, landlords have been expelling tenants to make space for their returning relatives as housing prices soar.

Iran, as well as neighboring Pakistan, has hosted millions of Afghan refugees for decades, many of them undocumented.

Humanitarian organizations and U.N. agencies have urged governments from both countries to return Afghans in a gradual and humane way, so far with little success. This month, Pakistan’s government announced that it, too, would begin the deportation of more than 1.3 million Afghan refugees living legally in Pakistan.

Elian Peltier is an international correspondent for The Times, covering Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Drought, dams and diplomacy: Afghanistan’s water crisis goes regional

August 20, 2025 Current News Articles

France 24/AFP

17/08/2025

But as Taliban authorities swept to power and tightened their grip on the country, they have pushed for Afghanistan’s water sovereignty, launching infrastructure projects to harness precious resources in the arid territory.

Dams and canals have sparked tensions with neighbouring states, testing the Taliban authorities’ efforts to build strong regional ties, as they remain largely isolated on the global stage since their 2021 takeover.

At the same time, the region is facing the shared impacts of climate change intensifying water scarcity, as temperatures rise and precipitation patterns shift, threatening glaciers and snowpack that feed the country’s rivers.

Here are key points about Afghanistan’s transboundary water challenges:

– Central Asian states to the north –

Afghanistan is emerging as a new player in often fraught negotiations on the use of the Amu Darya, one of two key rivers crucial for crops in water-stressed Central Asia, where water sharing relies on fragile accords since Soviet times.

Central Asian states have expressed concern over the Qosh Tepa mega canal project that could divert up to 21 percent of the Amu Darya’s total flow to irrigate 560,000 hectares of land across Afghanistan’s arid north, and further deplete the Aral Sea.

Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are likely to face the biggest impact, both joined by Kazakhstan in voicing alarm, even as they deepen diplomatic ties with the Taliban authorities — officially recognised so far by only Russia.

“No matter how friendly the tone is now,” water governance expert Mohd Faizee warned, “at some point there will be consequences for Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan when the canal starts operating”.

Taliban officials have denied that the project will have a major impact on the Amu Darya’s water levels and pledged it will improve food security in a country heavily dependent on climate-vulnerable agriculture and facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

“There is an abundance of water, especially when the Amu Darya floods and glacial meltwater flows into it” in the warmer months, said project manager Sayed Zabihullah Miri, during a visit to the canal works in Faryab province, where diggers carved into a drought-ridden plain dotted with camels and locusts.

– Iran to the west –

Iran is the only country with which Afghanistan has a formal water sharing treaty, agreed in 1973 over the Helmand river, which traverses Taliban heartland territory, but the accord was never fully implemented.

Longstanding tensions over the river’s resources have spiked over dams in southern Afghanistan, particularly in periods of drought, which are likely to increase as climate shocks hit the region’s water cycle.

Iran, facing pressure in its parched southeastern region, has repeatedly demanded that Afghanistan respect its rights, charging that upstream dams restrict the Helmand’s flow into a border lake.

The Taliban authorities insist there is not enough water to release more to Iran, blaming the impact of climate pressures on the whole region.

They also argue long-term poor water management has meant Afghanistan has not gotten its full share, according to an Afghanistan Analysts Network report by water resources management expert Assem Mayar.

Iran and Afghanistan have no formal agreement over their other shared river basin, the Harirud, which also flows into Turkmenistan and is often combined into a single basin with the Morghab river.

While infrastructure exists on the Afghan portions of the basin, some has not been fully utilised, Faizee said.

But that could change, he added, as the end of conflict in Afghanistan means infrastructure works don’t incur vast security costs on top of construction budgets, lifting a barrier to development of projects such as the Pashdan dam inaugurated in August on the Harirud.

– Pakistan to the east –

Water resources have not topped the agenda in consistently fraught relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Afghanistan’s Kabul river basin, which encompasses tributaries to the greater Indus basin and feeds the capital and largest city, is shared with Pakistan.

The countries, however, have no formal cooperation mechanism.

With the Afghan capital wracked by a severe water crisis, the Taliban authorities have sought to revitalise old projects and start new ones to tackle the problem, risking fresh tensions with Pakistan.

But the lack of funds and technical capacity means the Taliban authorities’ large water infrastructure projects across the country could take many years to come to fruition — time that could be good for diplomacy, but bad for ordinary Afghans.

US military vets are helping Afghans fight deportation

August 20, 2025 Current News Articles

Author,Regan Morris
BBC News in San Diego, California
20 August 2025

As a journalist in Afghanistan, Abdul says he helped promote American values like democracy and freedom. That work, he said, resulted in him being tortured by the Taliban after the US withdrew from the country in 2021.

Now he’s in California applying for political asylum, amid the looming threat of deportation.

“We trusted those values,” he said. “We came here for safety, and we don’t have it, unfortunately.”

But when Abdul walked into a San Diego court to plead his case, he wasn’t alone.

Ten veterans showed up for his hearing – unarmed, but dressed in hats and shirts to signify their military credentials as a “show of force”, said Shawn VanDiver, a US Navy vet who founded ‘Battle Buddies’ to support Afghan refugees facing deportation.

“Masked agents of the federal government are snatching up our friends, people who took life in our name and have done nothing wrong,” he said.

Approximately 200,000 Afghans relocated to the US after Kabul fell to the Taliban in August 2021, as the US left the country in chaos after two decades fighting the war on terror.

Many say they quickly felt embraced by Americans, who recognised the sacrifices they had made to help the US military and fight for human rights.

But since the Trump administration has terminated many of the programmes which protected them from deportation, Afghans now fear they will be deported and returned to their home country, which is now controlled by the Taliban.

Mr VanDiver, who also founded #AfghanEvac in 2021 to help allies escape the Taliban when the US withdrew, said US military veterans owe it to their wartime allies to try and protect them from being swept up in President Trump’s immigration raids.

“This is wrong.”

The Battle Buddies say they have a moral and legal obligation to stand and support Afghans. They now have more than 900 veteran volunteers across the country.

Many of the federal agents working for ICE and the Department of Homeland Security are veterans themselves, he said, and the Battle Buddies think their presence alone might help deter agents from detaining a wartime ally.

“Remember, don’t fight ICE,” Mr VanDiver told his fellow Battle Buddies outside court before Abdul’s hearing, referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE.

“If somebody does fight ICE, capture it on video. Those are the two rules.”

As Abdul and his lawyer went into court, the veterans stood in the corridor outside in a quiet and tense faceoff with half a dozen masked federal agents. It was the same hallway where an Afghan man, Sayed Naser, a translator who says he worked for the US military, was detained 12 June.

“This individual was an important part of our Company commitment to provide the best possible service for our clients, who were the United States Military in Afghanistan,” says one employment document submitted as part of Naser’s asylum application and reviewed by the BBC’s news partner in the US, CBS News.

“I have all the documents,” Mr Naser told the agents as he was handcuffed and taken away, which a bystander captured on video. “I worked with the US military. Just tell them.”

Mr Naser has been in detention since that day, fighting for political asylum from behind bars.

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told the BBC that there is nothing in his immigration records “indicating that he assisted the US government in any capacity”.

Whichever way Mr Naser’s case is decided, his detention is what inspired veterans to form the Battle Buddies. They say abandoning their wartime allies will hurt US national security because the US will struggle to recruit allies in the future.

“It’s short sighted to think we can do this and not lose our credibility,” said Monique Labarre, a US Army veteran who showed up for Abdul’s hearing. “These
President Trump has repeatedly blamed President Biden for a “disgraceful” and “humiliating” retreat from the country.

But the US’s withdrawal from Afghanistan was initially brokered by President Trump during his first term.

In their wake, American troops left behind a power vacuum that was swiftly and easily filled by the Taliban, who took control of the capital city, Kabul, in August 2021. Afghans, many who worked with the US military and NGOs, frantically swarmed the airport, desperate to get on flights along with thousands of US citizens.

Over the ensuing years, almost 200,000 Afghans would relocate to the US – some under special programmes designed for those most at risk of Taliban retribution.

The Trump administration has since ended one of them called Operation Enduring Welcome. It also ended the temporary protections which shielded some Afghans, as well as asylum seekers from several other countries, from deportation because of security concerns back home.

“Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilising economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement about terminating Temporary Protected Status for Afghans.

She added that some Afghans brought in under these programmes “have been under investigation for fraud and threatening our public safety and national security”.

Afghans in the United States scoff at the suggestion that they’d be safe going back, saying their lives would be in danger.

“I couldn’t work,” said Sofia, an Afghan woman living in Virginia. “My daughters couldn’t go to school.”

With the removal of temporary protected status, the Trump administration could deport people back to Afghanistan. Although that is so far rare, some Afghans have already begun to be deported to third countries, including Panama and Costa Rica.

Sofia and other members of her family were among the thousands of Afghans who received emails in April from the Department of Homeland Security saying: “It is time for you to leave the United States.”

The email, which was sent to people with a variety of different kinds of visas, said their parole would expire in 7 days.

Sofia panicked. Where would she go? She did not leave the United States, and her asylum case is still pending. But the letter sent shockwaves of fear throughout the Afghan community.

When asked about protecting Afghan wartime allies on 30 July, President Trump said: “We know the good ones and we know the ones that maybe aren’t so good, you know some came over that aren’t so good. And we’re going to take care of those people – the ones that did a job.”

Advocates have urged the Trump administration to restore temporary protected status for Afghans, saying women and children could face particular harm under the Taliban-led government.

Advocates are hopeful that Naser will soon be released. They say he passed a “credible fear” screening while in detention, which can allow him to pursue political asylum because he fears persecution or torture if returned to Afghanistan.

The Battle Buddies say they plan to keep showing up for wartime allies at court. It’s not clear if their presence made a difference at Abdul’s hearing – but he wasn’t detained and is now a step closer to the political asylum he says he was promised.

“It’s a relief,” he said outside court while thanking the US veterans for standing with him. But he said he still fears being detained by ICE, and he worries that the US values he believed in, and was tortured for, might be eroded.

“In Afghanistan, we were scared of the Taliban,” he said. “We have the same feeling here from ICE detention.”

China FM in Afghanistan, offers to deepen cooperation with Taliban rulers

August 20, 2025 Current News Articles

Mining, Belt and Road participation feature in trilateral meetings between China, Afghanistan and Pakistan in Kabul.

China wants to explore mining in Afghanistan and have Kabul formally join its Belt and Road Initiative, a massive infrastructure plan, which is a central pillar of President Xi Jinping’s bid to expand his country’s global influence, the Afghan Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is visiting Kabul and held talks with Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that both countries wanted to deepen ties in a number of areas.

Beijing will continue to support the Afghan government to achieve long-term peace and stability, Wang told Muttaqi, according to a readout of the meeting released by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

China is willing to deepen political mutual trust with Afghanistan and step up cooperation in areas including trade and agriculture, Wang said.

He called on Afghanistan to combat armed groups, adding that tighter security ties would provide a guarantee to bilateral economic cooperation.

“Mr Wang Yi also mentioned that China intends to initiate practical mining activities this year,” the Afghan statement said.

Wang also met Afghan Prime Minister Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund, according to Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson of the administration.

“China has cooperated not only with Afghanistan but also with other countries around the world in their development, and it has played a constructive role,” Akhund told Wang, urging Beijing to continue its “efforts and cooperation on the international stage in support of Afghanistan’s legitimate position”.

“We fully support the Afghan people in their progress,” he said, according to Fitrat.

Wang is in Kabul for trilateral meetings between China, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Neither Beijing nor Islamabad formally recognise the interim administration, but both nations have posted their ambassadors in Kabul and have received Afghan envoys in their capitals.

China was the first country to appoint an ambassador to Afghanistan under the Taliban and has sought to develop its ties with the hardline group that took control of the war-torn country in 2021.

The impoverished country, rich in lithium, copper and iron deposits, could offer a wealth of mineral resources to boost Beijing’s supply chain security, analysts say.

Chinese and Pakistani Foreign Ministers Arrive in Kabul for Trilateral Talks

August 20, 2025 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

August 20, 2025

Chinese and Pakistani foreign ministers arrived in Kabul for trilateral talks with Taliban officials, focusing on security, economic cooperation, and political dialogue to shape Afghanistan’s regional role.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Pakistani Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar arrived in Kabul on Wednesday to participate in a trilateral dialogue with the Taliban authorities. The visit signals a renewed effort by regional powers to engage Afghanistan under Taliban control and address pressing concerns.

According to Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, Dar was accompanied by Muhammad Sadiq, Islamabad’s special envoy to Kabul, underscoring Pakistan’s active role in shaping Afghanistan’s post-withdrawal diplomatic landscape. Their arrival reflects Islamabad’s intent to balance security cooperation with economic and political dialogue involving its war-torn neighbor.

China’s Wang Yi separately met Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi soon after his arrival in Kabul. The two sides reportedly discussed bilateral matters, with particular focus on regional security, economic cooperation, and Beijing’s growing interest in Afghanistan’s infrastructure and resource development projects.

The trilateral meeting between China, Pakistan, and the Taliban is expected to focus on a broad agenda, ranging from counterterrorism and border management to investment opportunities and trade corridors. The talks also reflect Beijing’s and Islamabad’s willingness to engage directly with Taliban officials despite the group’s lack of international recognition.

Reports suggest Wang Yi will also meet other senior Taliban leaders during his visit. These discussions are likely to build on the first round of trilateral talks that was held earlier this year in Beijing, where all three sides committed to closer security and economic coordination.

Observers note that the renewed dialogue highlights how regional powers are filling the diplomatic vacuum in Afghanistan following the U.S. withdrawal. While Western nations remain reluctant to formally engage, China and Pakistan are stepping in to protect their own strategic and security interests.

Afghanistan War Commission: Dependence, Corruption, Delayed Talks Weakened U.S. Mission

August 20, 2025 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

August 20, 2025

A U.S. Congressional report says strategic failures; dependence, corruption, and delayed peace talks, undermined Afghanistan’s institutions, leading to the Taliban’s rapid takeover after America’s withdrawal.

On the fourth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power, the U.S. Congressional Afghanistan War Commission released its second report, concluding that America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan failed due to deep strategic miscalculations rather than battlefield tactics.

The independent body, established by Congress in 2021, found that despite Washington’s stated aim of fostering Afghanistan self-reliance, the country’s institutions remained dangerously dependent on U.S. military, financial, and technical support. Parallel systems led by American contractors and agencies bypassed Afghan officials, undermining sovereignty and entrenching fragility.

The report stresses that Afghanistan security forces, reliant on U.S. logistics and technology, were unable to operate independently. As U.S. aid declined after the Doha peace talks, their capacity collapsed, paving the way for the Taliban’s swift takeover. Negotiations with the group, the commission argues, began too late—after the U.S. had already lost crucial leverage.

It also points to Washington’s shifting and often contradictory policies. A mission that began as a counterterrorism campaign quickly transformed into state-building, but without coherent strategy. Conflicting priorities among the Pentagon, State Department, and USAID, compounded by corruption, disputed elections, and lack of political consensus in Kabul, left the Afghanistan government brittle and mistrusted.

The report highlights Pakistan’s “double game”: while providing U.S. forces with vital transit routes and cooperating against al-Qaeda, it simultaneously allowed Taliban sanctuaries, undermining international counterterrorism efforts and prolonging the conflict.

Testimonies from Afghanistan citizens and U.S. officials reveal that early optimism eroded into deep disillusionment. Civilian casualties, corruption, and disregard for Afghanistan’s political and cultural complexities—such as national identity, Islam’s role in politics, and local governance, further fueled instability.

Four years after the U.S. withdrawal, Afghanistan has once again become a haven for extremist groups. U.N. experts warn that ISIS-K now poses a growing threat to the U.S. and Europe, while al-Qaeda—long allied with the Taliban, is rebuilding.

The commission concludes that the war’s failure had no single cause but stemmed from a convergence of strategic errors. Analysts caution that unless these lessons are absorbed, future U.S. interventions risk repeating the same costly mistakes.

By Riley Ceder

Recent Posts