Taliban Claims No Security Threat, Urges Citizens Abroad To Return
By Arshad Mehmood/The Media Line
The Taliban on Saturday called on Afghan nationals staying at a US-managed transit facility in Qatar to return to Afghanistan, saying the country is secure and that citizens no longer face safety risks.
In a statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said Afghans living abroad should feel confident returning home.
He maintained that there is currently no security threat to anyone in Afghanistan and said people are not being compelled to leave the country due to insecurity.
The Afghan government’s statement comes after several US media outlets reported that the Trump administration is considering relocating its former Afghan allies to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Congo is currently regarded as one of the world’s most conflict-ridden countries.
According to The New York Times, “After halting a US resettlement program for Afghans who helped the American war effort, President Trump is in talks to send as many as 1,100 of them to the Democratic Republic of Congo, an aid worker briefed on the plan said Tuesday.
More than 1,100 Afghans who were evacuated to Qatar after the fall of Kabul in 2021 are bracing for the closure of Camp As-Sayliyah in Doha, as the US-run facility was set to shut down on March 31.
The camp served as a temporary refuge for former Afghan commandos, interpreters, and family members of US service personnel, many of whom were evacuated during the chaotic withdrawal following the Taliban’s return to power.
Most of those housed at the camp have already been cleared for resettlement in the United States following extensive security vetting, with more than 400 children among them.
American senators strongly criticize the reported plan for moving Afghan allies from Qatar to Congo.
Senator Alex Padilla posted on his X account, “Unbelievable. When we betray our allies, we signal to every future partner that the US isn’t worthy of their trust.” Senator Jeff Merkley described the proposal as “evil and wrong.”
Several US senators, including Tammy Duckworth, Tim Kaine, and Ed Markey, have also criticized the reported relocation plan, calling for an immediate halt and stronger protections for Afghan allies.
Meanwhile, Nadir Khalili, a former Afghan special forces operative, told The Media Line that “It would have been better for us to have been killed in the war than to be transferred to a country like Congo.”
Khalili continued, “At the time, US officials clearly told us that, morally, the responsibility for our protection now rested with the United States, which is why we brought our children with us. But hearing this now has only deepened our anxiety.”
Aid agencies and human rights groups, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, have repeatedly urged faster international solutions for Afghan refugees, warning that delays in resettlement increase vulnerability and instability.
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