Afghanistan’s Taliban government issued a statement Saturday encouraging Afghan nationals currently housed at a U.S.-operated transit facility in Qatar to come back to their homeland, asserting that safety conditions have improved significantly.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi declared that Afghan citizens living overseas should have confidence in returning to their country. Balkhi emphasized that no security dangers currently exist for anyone within Afghanistan’s borders and stated that residents are not being forced to flee due to safety concerns.
This announcement follows reports from multiple American news organizations that the Trump administration is exploring the possibility of sending former Afghan allies to the Democratic Republic of Congo, a nation widely considered among the world’s most war-torn regions.
The New York Times reported that “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.”
Over 1,100 Afghan evacuees who fled to Qatar following Kabul’s collapse in 2021 are preparing for the closure of Camp As-Sayliyah in Doha, as the American-operated facility was scheduled to close on March 31.
The facility has provided temporary shelter for former Afghan military personnel, translators, and relatives of U.S. military members, many of whom were evacuated during the turbulent withdrawal when the Taliban regained control.
The majority of camp residents have completed thorough security screenings and received approval for U.S. resettlement, including more than 400 minors.
U.S. senators have voiced strong opposition to the reported plan to transfer Afghan allies from Qatar to Congo.
Senator Alex Padilla wrote 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 characterized the proposal as “evil and wrong.”
Additional senators, including Tammy Duckworth, Tim Kaine, and Ed Markey, have condemned the reported transfer plan, demanding its immediate suspension and enhanced protections for Afghan partners.
Nadir Khalili, a former Afghan special forces member, expressed his despair to The Media Line, saying “It would have been better for us to have been killed in the war than to be transferred to a country like Congo.”
Khalili added, “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.”
Humanitarian organizations and human rights advocates, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, have consistently called for accelerated international solutions for Afghan refugees, cautioning that resettlement delays heighten vulnerability and create instability.
