A high Taliban official affords amnesty to Afghans who fled the nation and urges them to return
A high Taliban official mentioned on Saturday that every one Afghans who fled the nation after the collapse of the previous Western-backed authorities are free to return house, promising they’d not be harmed if they arrive again.
Taliban Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund made the amnesty provide in his message for the Islamic vacation of Eid al-Adha, also referred to as the “Feast of Sacrifice.”
The provide comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump introduced a sweeping journey ban on 12 international locations, together with Afghanistan. The measure largely bars Afghans hoping to resettle in america completely in addition to these hoping to go to the U.S. quickly, akin to for college research.
Trump additionally suspended a core refugee program in January, all however ending help for Afghans who had allied with the U.S. and leaving tens of hundreds of them stranded.
Afghans in neighboring Pakistan who’re awaiting resettlement are additionally coping with a deportation drive by the Islamabad authorities to get them overseas. Nearly 1,000,000 have left Pakistan since October 2023 to keep away from arrest and expulsion.
Akhund’s vacation message was posted on the social platform X.
“Afghans who’ve left the nation ought to return to their homeland,” he mentioned. “No person will hurt them.”
“Come again to your ancestral land and stay in an environment of peace,” he added, and instructed officers to correctly handle providers for returning refugees and to make sure they got shelter and help.
He additionally used the event to criticize the media for making what he mentioned have been “false judgements” about Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers and their insurance policies.
“We should not permit the torch of the Islamic system to be extinguished,” he mentioned. “The media ought to keep away from false judgments and shouldn’t reduce the accomplishments of the system. Whereas challenges exist, we should stay vigilant.”
The Taliban swept into the capital Kabul and seized most of Afghanistan in a blitz in mid-August 2021 because the U.S. and NATO forces have been within the final weeks of their pullout from the nation after 20 years of warfare.
The offensive prompted a mass exodus, with tens of hundreds of Afghans thronging the airport in chaotic scenes, hoping for a flight out on the U.S. army airlift. Individuals additionally fled throughout the border, to neighboring Iran and Pakistan.
Amongst these escaping the brand new Taliban rulers have been additionally former authorities officers, journalists, activists, those that had helped the U.S. throughout its marketing campaign in opposition to the Taliban.