Concern grows in US over fate of Afghans awaiting resettlement

US lawmakers sharply questioned the State Department this week over the uncertain fate of Afghan allies still awaiting relocation, casting a spotlight on plans to close a key processing facility and on reports of payments being offered for voluntary return.

At a House subcommittee hearing on South and Central Asia on Wednesday (local time), assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs Paul Kapur faced pointed and, at times, impassioned queries about the administration’s policy toward Afghans who remain in limbo more than four years after the US withdrawal.

Democratic Ranking Member Sydney Kamlager-Dove described the situation facing those housed at the CAS relocation facility as “a living nightmare”, noting that the State Department aims to shutter the site by the end of March and relocate more than 1,000 Afghans to third countries.

Kapur confirmed that between 1,100 and 1,200 Afghans are currently at the facility. “We’re in negotiations with third countries to do that,” he said, adding that prolonged stays were neither sustainable nor humane. “Keeping them indefinitely on CAS is really not humane.”

Lawmakers pressed him over reports that the department was offering financial assistance to Afghans willing to return voluntarily to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Kamlager-Dove said the State Department was “offering payments to Afghan allies at best to self-deport back to the Taliban”, and asked how many had accepted.

“I believe it’s in the neighbourhood of 150,” Kapur replied, while promising to confirm the exact figure. He stressed that no one was being forced back. “We are not forcibly repatriating Afghans to Afghanistan; some have gone of their own volition, but we’re not forcing anybody,” he said.

The hearing also revisited congressional oversight of the relocation effort. A 2024 law mandated the appointment of a coordinator for Afghan resettlement. Asked whether he now held that responsibility, Kapur said the portfolio falls under his purview as assistant secretary overseeing South and Central Asia and the Office of Afghan Affairs. “I have that responsibility structurally now,” he said.

Kamlager-Dove called for greater transparency and regular briefings, warning that the administration’s handling of Afghan allies would define its moral and historical legacy. The treatment of those who aided US forces, she said, amounted to “one of the great moral catastrophes of this administration” and would be remembered “for the history books.”

Subcommittee Chair Bill Huizenga sought updates on the broader Afghanistan policy review, which Kapur described as an ongoing, interagency process. He pledged to remain “as transparent and open as I possibly can be.”

The exchange underscored enduring tensions in Washington over the aftermath of the 2021 withdrawal and the thousands of Afghans who assisted American forces and later sought refuge through special visa and resettlement programmes.

Lawmakers also voiced concern over the plight of women and girls in Afghanistan, particularly access to education. Kapur reiterated that the United States supports equal educational opportunities, saying women and girls “should be educated just like boys and men”.

As the administration recalibrates its South and Central Asia strategy — balancing regional security priorities with humanitarian commitments — the unresolved future of Afghan allies remains a poignant reminder of the war’s long shadow.

With IANS inputs