The U.S. State Department confirmed Afghan SIV holders are exempt from the travel ban, ensuring continued visa processing and resettlement support.
The U.S. State Department has confirmed that Afghan nationals holding Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) are exempt from the recent travel ban imposed by former President Donald Trump. This clarification brings relief to thousands of Afghans awaiting resettlement.
Speaking at a press briefing on Tuesday, June 10, State Department spokesperson Timmy Bruce stated that the consular processing of Afghan SIV applications continues uninterrupted at all U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide.
When asked about the growing threat of ISIS activity under Taliban rule in Afghanistan, Bruce declined to comment, stating he had no specific updates on the matter.
This statement comes shortly after the Taliban claimed to have killed two alleged ISIS fighters in Kabul earlier this week, asserting their ongoing control over insurgent threats within the country.
The travel ban, issued through an executive order by the President Trump, had included citizens from 12 countries, including Afghanistan. However, the exemption of SIV holders signals the U.S.’s continued support for those who aided American missions.
The SIV program was designed to protect Afghan allies such as interpreters, embassy staff, and military contractors who faced threats after the U.S. withdrawal.
Human rights groups have applauded the exemption, emphasizing that abandoning Afghan allies would have amounted to a serious breach of international responsibility.
With instability continuing in Afghanistan and threats from extremist groups rising, observers stress the importance of maintaining robust pathways for vulnerable Afghans seeking refuge and safety abroad.
Afghan SIV holders exempt from US Travel Ban, says State Department
Russia has issued a stark warning about the growing presence of ISIS in Afghanistan.
At the 18th meeting of the heads of counter-terrorism agencies of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) held in Moscow, Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), expressed serious concern over the rising activity of ISIS and its affiliated groups in Afghanistan. He emphasized that these developments pose a growing threat to regional security and stability.
Bortnikov attributed the resurgence of radical groups to Western geopolitical maneuvers. He specifically mentioned the West’s policies in the Middle East, which, according to him, have contributed to the spread of extremism. “The change of power in Syria, the conflict in Gaza, sustained pressure on Iran, and escalating tensions in Libya have collectively created fertile ground for the growth of radicalism globally,” he stated.
The Russian intelligence chief highlighted that Afghanistan has become a focal point for ISIS operations. He warned that the activities of the Islamic State and its branches are becoming increasingly aggressive in the region, particularly within Afghanistan territory, posing a threat not only to neighboring countries but also to Russian interests in Central Asia.
In addition to Afghanistan, Bortnikov mentioned rising ISIS-related threats in Syria, Pakistan, and the broader Middle East. He raised alarms about foreign fighters—especially those with Russian, Central Asian, or Caucasian nationalities—who were released from prisons in Syria and are now rejoining extremist ranks.
These concerns echo earlier warnings issued by Russia’s Ministry of Defense, which reported the presence of over 20 terrorist groups currently operating in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Russia has repeatedly stated its willingness to coordinate with the Taliban to eliminate ISIS cells operating in the country.
Meanwhile, the Taliban claimed two nights ago that they had eliminated an ISIS hideout in the city of Kabul. However, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary Karen Chandler contradicted the Taliban’s claim, stating there is insufficient independent verification of their recent operation against ISIS hideouts in Kabul.
Russian Intelligence Chief warns of Rising ISIS Activity in Afghanistan
The former Afghan military employee is living in fear of being found by the Taliban, which seized power in 2021 as US forces withdrew from the Central Asian nation.
As a result, Ahmad is unable to get a job or access medical care, relying on donations from friends outside the country to survive. His son, 12, is unable to go to school.
If they are found, Ahmad says, the Taliban “will remove” him.
His hope had been refugee resettlement in the US, but – with just a medical check to complete – the process was put on pause by the Trump administration.
Still, he hoped. Then, on Thursday he woke to the news that US President Donald Trump had issued a new order banning the entry of Afghan passport holders to the US, citing national security threats.
“I am not a threat to the United States,” Ahmad told the BBC. The BBC is not using his real name because of concerns about his safety.
“We were friends of the United States,” he added.
Trump’s sweeping travel ban came into force on Monday, blocking people from Afghanistan and 11 other countries, including seven from Africa, as well as countries like Haiti and Yemen, from entering the US. There are partial bans on seven other countries.
According to the ban, Afghanistan was included because the Taliban are considered by the US government to be a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group, and the country does not have “a competent or co-operative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents”, or “appropriate screening and vetting measures”. It also notes a relatively high rate of people overstaying their visas.
The Trump administration has, however, recently dropped temporary protected status for more than 9,000 Afghans living in the US, arguing its assessments showed the security and economic situation in Afghanistan had improved.
But those living in Afghanistan are faced with a series of restrictions brought in by the Taliban government in line with its strict interpretation of Sharia law.
The ones affecting women – including the enforcement of head coverings, restrictions on travel and education over the age of 12 – amount to a “gender apartheid”, according to the United Nations. The Taliban says it respects the rights of women in line with Sharia and Afghan culture.
A different UN report from 2023 found there were credible reports that hundreds of former government officials and armed forces members had been killed since the group returned to power in 2021, despite a general amnesty. The Taliban has previously said all Afghans could “live in the country without any fear” – and those abroad should come back and help rebuild the country.
“There is a general amnesty,” Mohammad Suhail Shaheen, Taliban ambassador to Qatar, told the BBC earlier this year. “Countrywide security is prevalent in Afghanistan. Every citizen and traveller can travel to any corner of the country without any obstacles or any difficulties.”
There are exceptions to Trump’s ban – including for Afghans who worked directly with the US military before the Taliban back took control of the country in 2021.
But Ahmad, whose application for resettlement was backed by a former US service member, does not qualify for a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) because he did not work directly for the US.
And he is far from the only one.
Some 200,000 Afghans have been resettled since the US military’s chaotic withdrawal, but there are still tens of thousands more waiting for a decision.
Many have fled across the border to neighbouring Pakistan to wait for a decision to be made on their application.
Samira, who spoke to the BBC’s Afghan Service, is currently in Pakistan – which has been expelling tens of thousands of Afghans in recent months. If the path to the US is closed to her, she is not sure what to do next.
“Returning to Afghanistan is not an option for us – it would be incredibly challenging,” she said. “Our children have already lost years of education, and we have no hope of safely going back.”
More than 8,300 family members of US citizens are ready for an interview in Afghanistan, with more than 11,400 others awaiting family reunification, according to US Department of State data shared by AfghanEvac.
Mojo, who asked to be identified by his nickname, is one of the 200,000 Afghans who have already reached the US, because he worked directly for the US military. He is now a US citizen.
His sister, however, remains in Afghanistan where she and her husband are “living in a hide and seek game”, he says. They change their address and city every couple months in order to stay safe.
They passed the background and medical checks for refugee resettlement, but like the others who spoke to the BBC, they became trapped when the process was paused in January.
This latest order has made Mojo, who lives in Houston, Texas, and the rest of his family lose “all our hope completely” .
“I wish that he would change his mind, make some exception, change the rules or take his order back and let people have a peaceful life,” he said.
The ban also affects Afghans who are not trying to reach the US for resettlement.
Zarifa Ghafari is studying at Cornell University in New York state, but is currently in Germany for the summer with her young child.
She said she began a “frantic” race back to the US on Thursday in order to continue her studies, before the start of the travel ban on Monday.
The ban has put her under “immense pressure” and has made her feel “very vulnerable”, the the 30-year-old former politician told the BBC.
What makes it worse, she said, was that she regularly had to return to Germany every few months to maintain her residency status there too. Describing her situation as “precarious”, she said she worried about how she could make her regular trips to Germany when the travel ban began.
Shawn VanDiver, of AfghanEvac, said the ban broke a promise Americans had made to Afghans over the 20 years they were in the country.
“This policy punishes people who escaped the Taliban, risked everything to support democracy, are already vetted, were told by the US government to wait,” he wrote on social media platform X.
“They’re not threats. They’re our allies – and they’re being left behind.”
Meanwhile, many of those still in Afghanistan have other problems to contend with.
As one Afghan man in Kabul told AFP news agency: “We don’t even have bread, why are you asking me about travelling to America?”
Additional reporting by Azadeh Moshiri and Gabriela Pomeroy
‘We were friends of the US’: Fearful Afghans face Trump travel ban
Afghan fathers, brothers and husbands are under pressure to ensure the women in their families observe the country’s repressive laws. Here, men and women across the country explain how it is affecting family bonds
To be a father of daughters in the Taliban’s Afghanistan has become a daily nightmare for Amir. Now, he says, he is more prison guard than loving parent, an unwilling and unpaid enforcer of a system of gender apartheid that he despises yet feels compelled to inflict on his two teenage girls in order to protect them from the Taliban’s rage and reprisals.
Just a few years ago, Amir’s daughters had a life and a future. They went to school, to see friends and moved around their community. Now, he says he would prefer it if his daughters never left the house. He, like many other fathers in Afghanistan, has heard stories about what can happen to young women who find themselves in the crosshairs of the Taliban’s “morality police”.
In the rare instances when their begging and pleading to be allowed out in the world gets too much for him, he ensures they go accompanied by a male member of the family and are fully covered.
“I insist that they wear the hijab and I tell them they are not allowed to laugh outside the house or at the market,” he says. “The ‘morality police’ are very strict, and if they don’t comply, they might get detained.”
Last summer, three years after they swept to power in August 2021, the scale of the Taliban’s ambition to erase women from public life was laid bare in their unveiling of an extensive set of “vice and virtue” laws.
Under the new rules, women were told to cover themselves completely when outside the house; not to allow their voices to be heard talking loudly; to only appear in public with a male escort and never to look at a man who was not their direct relation.
When the rules were announced, it was unclear how a relatively small number of “morality police” employed by the Taliban would enforce and implement these rules.
Yet, in the months since the rules were announced, it has been fathers, brothers and husbands who have become, in effect, unpaid foot soldiers imposing the Taliban’s oppressive regime on Afghanistan’s women and girls.
They are driven not just by fear of what will happen to women if apprehended by Taliban enforcers. Under the Taliban’s new rules, if a woman is deemed to be found in breach of its morality rules, it is her male relative, not her, who could be punished and face fines or even prison.
The Guardian and Rukhshana Media spoke to more than a dozen men, as well as young women across Afghanistan, about how the Taliban’s morality laws were changing their attitudes and behaviours towards the women in their families.
“Men have become unpaid soldiers of the Taliban,” says Jawid Hakimi, from Bamyan province. “We are forced, for the sake of our honour, reputation and social standing, to enforce the Taliban’s orders on the women in our families. Day by day, society is adjusting to the Taliban’s rules, and their restrictions [on women] are gradually reshaping society according to their vision – and we feel compelled to align our families with their expectations. It is a suffocating atmosphere.”
Parwiz, a young man from a province in the north-east of Afghanistan says when his sister was detained by the Taliban’s “morality police” for not wearing a hijab, he was terrified for her safety and determined that this would never happen again.
“I was forced to go to the police station, where I was insulted and told I had to do whatever the Taliban said,” he says. “When I came home, I took out all my anger and frustration on my mother and sister.”
Other men who spoke of how the fear of social shame if they were punished for “immoral” behaviour was spilling over into repression and violence towards their female family members.
Freshta, a young woman from Badakhshan province, says she is beaten by her husband if she leaves the house, even to get food at the market. “I went to the corner of the street to buy vegetables and I had put on a long, black hijab but no burqa. When I returned, he hit me across the face and beat me.
He said: ‘Do you want us to break the rules? What if one of my work colleagues saw you?’ For months now I have barely left the house. He says if I do leave I need to wear the burqa.”
Rabia, 22, says he cannot risk the family facing the “dishonour” of his elder sister Maryam going out and people thinking that she is dressed immodestly.
“Our pride doesn’t allow it. We have shame, we have honour. We can’t bear the thought that, God forbid, something might be said about her in the city or the market,” he says.
Young women spoke of the pain of their families turning into enforcers of a morality code imposed on them by an extremist ideology that had already stripped them of their right to education, work and self-autonomy.
“My father’s behaviour changed after the Taliban came. Before that, he didn’t care much about our [his daughters’] clothing,” says 25-year-old Masha. “Before, he never told us not to wear something or to avoid certain places, but as soon as the Taliban came he changed. He said: ‘If you consider me your father and care about the dignity of your family you will wear the hijab. Don’t wear makeup, not even a strand of your hair should be visible, don’t wear high-heeled shoes, and you don’t need to go out so often. Tell me or your brothers so we can get it for you from the market,’” she says.
“So now every time I have my period I have to go without sanitary products or medicine. I just stay inside.”
Richard Bennett, the UN’s special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan says that, while he has documented “acts of resistance” from Afghan men against the Taliban’s institutionalised repression of women, “within families, male family members are increasingly enforcing restrictions on their female relatives, and more women report needing permission to leave their homes. There are also increasing reports of female family members ensuring compliance.”
“The presence of de facto officials and suspected informers in communities, the threat of constant surveillance and the unpredictability of enforcement are further contributing to feelings of insecurity, heightening psychological stress and anxiety, especially among young women,” he says.
How ordinary men became unpaid Taliban enforcers in their own homes
The spokesperson for the Iranian government emphasized that Iran is committed to distinguishing between legal and illegal Afghan residents.
A spokesperson for the Iranian government stated that Afghan nationals having a legal status will be allowed to remain in the country.
Refugees residing in Iran reported that following the cancellation of their documents, their access to health and educational services has been reduced.
Rahimullah Safi, an Afghan refugee in Iran, said: “Afghan refugees face many challenges in Iran. Four million undocumented refugees have been given two months to leave the country. Their children have been expelled from schools and are not being admitted.”
Another Afghan refugee, Asadullah Zairi, said: “Undocumented Afghan refugees, if they do not leave Iran, will be deprived of all healthcare, education, and other rights. This will cause many difficulties for the refugees.”
The spokesperson for the Iranian government emphasized that Iran is committed to distinguishing between legal and illegal Afghan residents, and that those with legal status will be allowed to remain.
Fatemeh Mohajerani, the Iranian government spokesperson, said: “The government differentiates between legal and illegal residents. The decision is that those with valid legal documents will be allowed to stay in accordance with the law, while those without legal documents may leave.”
Mohammad Jamal Muslim, a refugee rights activist, added: “They cannot access hospitals or schools. They are even unable to benefit from rights given to refugees in parks and recreational areas.”
Previously, Iran’s Ministry of Interior had set September 15 as the deadline for Afghan refugees.
The head of the Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs at Iran’s Ministry of Interior stated that the number of undocumented Afghans in the country has surpassed four million.
Iran Govt: ‘Legal’ Refugees May Stay, Others Have 2 Months
The foreign ministers of these nations declared their firm support for a stable, peaceful Afghanistan free from terrorism and narcotics.
India and five Central Asian countries in a joint statement, emphasized that peace and stability in Afghanistan are vital and essential.
According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, during the fourth meeting of the foreign ministers of India and the five Central Asian countries, it was agreed to continue coordinated dialogue on issues related to Afghanistan.
The joint statement reads: “The Ministers reiterated their strong support for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan which is free from terrorism, war and drugs.”
The statement also highlighted the importance of humanitarian support for the Afghan people.
The ministers further recognized the role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in promoting peace, security, stability, and economic development in the region.
Nesar Ahmad Shirzai, a political analyst, said: “The concerns of these countries must be acknowledged — especially India, which has consistently emphasized addressing the challenges facing the Afghan people and has never interfered in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.”
This emphasis on peace and stability in Afghanistan comes as the interim government maintains close political and economic relations with India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
India, Central Asia Reaffirm Support for Peace in Afghanistan
IRMO, S.C. (AP) — Mohammad Sharafoddin, his wife and young son walked at times for 36 hours in a row over mountain passes as they left Afghanistan as refugees to end up less than a decade later talking about their journey on a plush love seat in the family’s three-bedroom suburban American home.
He and his wife dreamed of bringing her niece to the United States to share in that bounty. Maybe she could study to become a doctor and then decide her own path.
“It’s kind of shock for us when we hear about Afghanistan, especially right now for ladies who are affected more than others with the new government,” Mohammad Sharafoddin said, referring to the country’s Taliban rulers. “We didn’t think about this travel ban.”
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021 as the Western forces were in the final phase of their withdrawal from the country, they have barred education for women and girls beyond sixth grade, most employment and many public spaces. Last August, the Taliban introduced laws that ban women’s voices and bare faces outside the home.President Donald Trump signed the travel ban Wednesday. It is similar to one in place during his first administration but covers more countries. Along with Afghanistan, travel to the U.S. is banned from Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Trump said visitors who overstay visas, like the man charged in an attack that injured dozens of demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, earlier this month, are a danger to the country. The suspect in the attack is from Egypt, which isn’t included in the ban.
The countries chosen for the ban have deficient screening of their citizens, often refuse to take them back and have a high percentage of people who stay in the U.S. after their visas expire, Trump said.
The ban makes exceptions for people from Afghanistan on Special Immigrant Visas who generally worked most closely with the U.S. government during the two-decade war there.
Thousands of refugees came from Afghanistan
Afghanistan was also one of the largest sources of resettled refugees, with about 14,000 arrivals in a 12-month period through September 2024. Trump suspended refugee resettlement on his first day in office.
It is a path Sharafoddin took with his wife and son out of Afghanistan walking on those mountain roads in the dark then through Pakistan, Iran and into Turkey. He worked in a factory for years in Turkey, listening to YouTube videos on headphones to learn English before he was resettled in Irmo, South Carolina, a suburb of Columbia.
His son is now 11, and he and his wife had a daughter in the U.S. who is now 3. There is a job at a jewelry maker that allows him to afford a two-story, three-bedroom house. Food was laid out on two tables Saturday for a celebration of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday.
Sharafoddin’s wife, Nuriya, said she is learning English and driving — two things she couldn’t do in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
“I’m very happy to be here now, because my son is very good at school and my daughter also. I think after 18 years they are going to work, and my daughter is going to be able to go to college,” she said.
The family wants to help a niece
It is a life she wanted for her niece too. The couple show videos from their cellphones of her drawing and painting. When the Taliban returned to power in 2021, their niece could no longer study. So they started to plan to get her to the U.S. at least to further her education.
Nuriya Sharafoddin doesn’t know if her niece has heard the news from America yet. She hasn’t had the heart to call and tell her.
“I’m not ready to call her. This is not good news. This is very sad news because she is worried and wants to come,” Nuriya Sharafoddin said.
While the couple spoke, Jim Ray came by. He has helped a number of refugee families settle in Columbia and helped the Sharafoddins navigate questions in their second language.
Ray said Afghans in Columbia know the return of the Taliban changed how the U.S. deals with their native country.
But while the ban allows spouses, children or parents to travel to America, other family members aren’t included. Many Afghans know their extended families are starving or suffering, and suddenly a path to help is closed, Ray said.
“We’ll have to wait and see how the travel ban and the specifics of it actually play out,” Ray said. “This kind of thing that they’re experiencing where family cannot be reunited is actually where it hurts the most.”
“Citizens from 12 countries are barred from entering their land — and Afghans are not allowed either,” he said on a recording shared on social media. “Why? Because they claim the Afghan government has no control over its people and that people are leaving the country. So, oppressor! Is this what you call friendship with humanity?”
Travel ban may shut door for Afghan family to bring niece to US for a better life
An explosion in Paktia killed a 12-year-old child and injured four others, exposing risks from leftover war explosives in Afghanistan.
Local sources in Paktia province report that a 12-year-old child was killed and four others injured in a mine explosion. The incident occurred in the village of Hasan Khil in Dand-e-Patan district on Sunday. According to reports, the children were playing with a mortar shell when the explosion happened.
Locals attribute the explosion to a roadside mine, while the Taliban claim it was caused by leftover munitions from Afghanistan’s long-standing conflicts. The injured children were immediately taken to a nearby hospital, where their condition has been reported as stable.
Explosions from unexploded ordnance (UXO) continue to pose a serious threat, especially to children in Afghanistan. These remnants of past wars frequently cause casualties in civilian areas, highlighting the ongoing dangers faced by local communities.
Humanitarian organizations have long warned about the risks UXOs present, urging for increased clearance efforts and education to protect vulnerable populations. According to the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), Afghanistan remains one of the most heavily mined countries in the world.
Efforts by NGOs and international agencies aim to reduce UXO-related casualties, but challenges remain due to the country’s rugged terrain and ongoing conflict.
The tragic death of a child in Paktia province underscores the urgent need for enhanced mine clearance and awareness programs. Preventing further civilian casualties requires sustained international support and cooperation.
Without immediate action, unexploded ordnance will continue to threaten the safety and lives of Afghan civilians, especially children, prolonging the humanitarian crisis in the region.
Explosion in Paktia, Afghanistan kills one, injures four
They are asking Trump to exempt P-1 and P-2 categories of immigration cases from the executive order.
As the full implementation of Donald Trump’s new executive order banning travel to the United States for citizens of 12 countries moves forward, some individuals with pending US immigration cases are calling for a reconsideration of the decision.
They are asking Trump to exempt P-1 and P-2 categories of immigration cases from the executive order.
Eid Mohammad Hakimi, an Afghan holding a P-2 case, said: “The enforcement of the travel ban and the suspension of P-1 and P-2 cases for Afghans has put Afghan citizens in third countries in a completely uncertain situation. We request the US government to exempt P-1 and P-2 cases from this ban.”
Meanwhile, Sean Van Diver, head of the Afghan Evac organization, said at a gathering in front of the White House that 200,000 Afghans have been relocated to the United States over the past four years, while another 200,000 are still waiting for the process to be completed. He urged American officials to honor their commitments.
Shawn Van Diver also stated: “We must unite and defend our rights. The promises made to us must be fulfilled. This country must be held accountable for the commitments it made to us and to our allies.”
At the same time, large protests have erupted in several states against Trump’s immigration policies.
Due to these protests, the US president ordered the deployment of national guard forces in some cities.
Jim McDonnell, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, commented: “Do we need the National Guard? Looking at the situation tonight, it seems this is getting out of control. Before giving a precise answer, I need to understand their capabilities and role. However, we have strong police forces in Southern California that always work together.”
In cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and others, the protests turned violent, leading to dozens of arrests by police.
This comes as Trump issued a new executive order on Wednesday, banning visa issuance for citizens of Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Sudan, Myanmar, Chad, Eritrea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Guinea.
Reaction to Trump’s Travel Ban: Calls to Exempt P-2 Cases
The top Taliban leader on Saturday slammed President Donald Trump’s travel ban on Afghans, calling the United States an oppressor, as Afghanistan’s rulers seek greater engagement with the international community.
The comments from Hibatullah Akhundzada marked the first public reaction from the Taliban since the Trump administration this week moved to bar citizens from 12 countries, including Afghanistan, from entering the U.S.
Trump’s executive order largely applies to Afghans hoping to resettle in the U.S. permanently, as well as those hoping to go to America temporarily, including for university studies.
Since returning to power in Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban have imposed harsh measures, banned women from public places and education for women and girls beyond the sixth grade. And though they have so far failed to gain recognition as the country’s official government, the Taliban have diplomatic relations with several countries, including China and Russia.
A message from the leader
Akhundzada released his message on the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha, also known as the “Feast of Sacrifice,” from the southern city of Kandahar, where he has set up base but is rarely seen in public.
In a 45-minute audio recording shared by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on X, Akhundzada denounced the Trump administration for imposing “restrictions on people.”
“Citizens from 12 countries are barred from entering their land — and Afghans are not allowed either,” he said. “Why? Because they claim the Afghan government has no control over its people and that people are leaving the country. So, oppressor! Is this what you call friendship with humanity?”
He blamed the U.S. for the deaths of Palestinian women and children in Gaza, linking this allegation to the travel ban. “You are committing acts that are beyond tolerance,” he added.
The Trump administration says the measure is meant to protect U.S. citizens from “aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.”
It argues that Afghanistan lacks a competent central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and lacks appropriate screening and vetting measures. It also says Afghans who visit the U.S. have a high visa overstay rate.
Trump also suspended a core refugee program in January, all but ending support for Afghans who had allied with the U.S. and leaving tens of thousands of them stranded.
The Taliban offer amnesty
Also on Saturday, the Taliban prime minister said that all Afghans who fled the country after the collapse of the former Western-backed government are free to return home, promising they would be safe.
“Afghans who have left the country should return to their homeland,” Mohammad Hassan Akhund said. “Nobody will harm them.”
“Come back to your ancestral land and live in an atmosphere of peace,” the Taliban prime minister said in a message on X and instructed officials to ensure returning refugees were given shelter and support.
He also used the occasion to criticize the media for making what he said were “false judgements” about Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers and their policies.
“We must not allow the torch of the Islamic system to be extinguished,” he said. “The media should avoid false judgments and should not minimize the accomplishments of the system. While challenges exist, we must remain vigilant.”
The return of the Taliban rule
The Taliban swept into the capital of Kabul and seized most of Afghanistan in a blitz in mid-August 2021 as the U.S. and NATO forces were in the last weeks of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war.
The offensive prompted a mass exodus, with tens of thousands of Afghans thronging the airport in chaotic scenes, hoping for a flight out on the U.S. military airlift. People also fled across the border, to neighboring Iran and Pakistan.
Among those escaping the new Taliban rulers were also former government officials, journalists, activists, those who had helped the U.S. during its campaign against the Taliban.
Separately, Afghans in neighboring Pakistan who are awaiting resettlement are also dealing with a deportation drive by the Islamabad government to get them out of the country. Almost a million have left Pakistan since October 2023 to avoid arrest and expulsion.
The Taliban leader slams Trump’s travel ban on Afghans and calls the US an ‘oppressor’
Afghanistan Peace Campaign
