Afghans say last path to safety shuts as US halts visas after DC shooting

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By Saeed Shah

KABUL/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Afghans who fled the Taliban and have waited years for a U.S. resettlement decision say their last path to safety has shut since Washington froze all Afghan immigration cases following a shooting near the White House.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said late on Wednesday it had halted processing for Afghan nationals indefinitely, hours after an Afghan man shot and critically wounded two National Guard soldiers in Washington.

President Donald Trump called the attack “an act of terror” and ordered a review of Afghans who entered the country during Joe Biden’s presidency.

For Afghans sheltering in Pakistan, tens of thousands of whom are awaiting U.S. resettlement decisions, the announcement felt like their last safe route had closed.

‘IF I GO BACK YOU WILL HEAR NEWS OF MY ARREST OR MY DEATH’

“I was deeply distressed when I heard this news. We have completed all the required review procedures,” said Ahmad Samim Naimi, 34, from Afghanistan’s Panjshir province, who had worked as a TV presenter and press adviser under the previous, U.S.-backed government.

He fled to Pakistan after the Taliban began detaining journalists and former government workers, and had applied for resettlement in the United States.

“If I go back, one day you will certainly hear news of either my arrest or my death,” he said.

Remaining in Pakistan has become increasingly difficult as the authorities have launched a crackdown on Afghans without formal refugee status. Pakistan has deported more than half a million Afghans in the past year and intensified detentions in major cities. Even Afghans with valid visas or UNHCR documents have been stopped at checkpoints, evicted or asked for bribes.

Pakistan’s information and interior ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment, nor did Afghanistan’s refugee and foreign affairs ministries. The Taliban have previously said Afghanistan is now at peace and safe for citizens to return home.

‘RISK OF DESTRUCTION’

Rights groups say former government workers, journalists, soldiers and people linked to Western forces face detention, disappearance or execution under Taliban rule, while women face sweeping restrictions on movement, work and education.

Another applicant for U.S. resettlement living in Pakistan, a 40-year-old former civil servant from Kabul who declined to give his name for security reasons, said the freeze had erased everything he had built his family’s future around.

“I cannot put myself and my family at risk of destruction,” he said about returning to Afghanistan.

SINGLE INCIDENT SHUTS A DOOR FOR MANY

U.S. forces and aid bodies employed thousands of Afghans as interpreters and local staff during America’s longest war, which ended when the Taliban seized power in 2021.

After abandoning Kabul, the Biden administration announced Operation Allies Welcome to offer refuge to Afghans at special risk of persecution because of their association with the United States.

But there have been long waits, including for those granted priority treatment — “P1” for those who worked directly for the U.S. government and “P2” for those who worked on U.S.-funded projects or for media, aid or civil society organisations.

Officials identified the suspected Washington gunman as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, who arrived under Operation Allies Welcome and was granted asylum earlier this year. Authorities say he served in the Afghan army and had no criminal record.

Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac, a volunteer group seeking to assist Afghans who helped U.S. forces, said about 200,000 Afghans had arrived in the United States since 2021 through refugee and special visa programmes after vetting.

“These folks don’t deserve this — they’re just trying to get their shot at the American dream,” he said. “This is going to cause a lot of harm across the Afghan community in the United States.”

He said another 265,000 Afghans are still being processed abroad, including about 180,000 in the Special Immigrant Visa pipeline for those who worked for the U.S. government. Many are waiting in countries such as Pakistan, Qatar and North Macedonia, while others remain inside Afghanistan.

Naimi said he still hopes Washington will reconsider: “I hope that the United States will reconsider the cases of those with P1 and P2 status and restart the process.”

(Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul and Saeed Shah in IslamabadWriting by Ariba Shahid in KarachiEditing by Peter Graff)