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Car bomb hits gov’t facility – Paktia

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A car bomb hit a government facility in Paktia, reportedly an army base, this morning, leaving dozens of civilian casualties.

Confirming the blast, Paktia officials said 5 civilians had been killed and 19 others, including 5 military personnel, had been injured.

Paktia Police Chief Sultan Daud confirmed that a car bomb – a Mazda truck improvised with explosives – had exploded at a military facility in Gardez, Paktia province.

The spokesperson for 203 Thunder Corps, Emal Momand, said 5 civilians had been killed and 19 others, including 5 military personnel, had been injured, adding that the number of casualties is likely to vary.

The Paktia provincial media office said in a statement that 28 people were killed and wounded in the attack – the dead included one ANA soldier and three civilians, while 19 civilians and 5 ANA soldiers were wounded.

According to the statement, the incident has happened in a place that is mostly frequented by civilians. Also, windows of offices and houses nearby have been broken.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming that a number of troopers had been killed and wounded.

This comes as President Ghani, following the deadly attacks in Kabul, Nangarhar, and Laghman, ordered the Afghan National Defense and Security forces to ease up their “active defense” mode and go on “offensive” one against the anti-government armed forces.

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Afghan embassy in Islamabad slams Pakistan for forced deportation of Afghans

This week the International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated that over 18,000 Afghan migrants returned to Afghanistan from Islamabad and Rawalpindi last month.

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Afghanistan’s embassy in Islamabad said on Wednesday that Afghan nationals in Islamabad and Rawalpindi have recently been subjected to arrests, searches, and orders from the police to leave the twin cities and relocate to other parts of Pakistan.

According to a statement issued by the embassy, this process of detaining Afghans, which began without any formal announcement, has not been officially communicated to the Embassy of Afghanistan in Islamabad through any formal correspondence.

“In response, the Embassy has held multiple meetings with relevant Pakistani authorities and officials to seek clarification on the matter — whether these actions are isolated incidents that need to be stopped or part of an official policy that should be publicly disclosed,” the statement read.

The statement noted that discussions with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) revealed that they were unaware of the ongoing situation.

However, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has now confirmed that there is “a definitive and final plan to deport/remove all Afghan refugees not only from Islamabad and Rawalpindi but also from the entire country in the near future,” the embassy stated.

Pakistan officials told Afghanistan’s embassy officials that this decision was official and only Afghans who are in possession of valid, legal, visas will be allowed to reside in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

The embassy went on to state that Pakistan has decided to remove all Afghan refugees, including those holding ACC (Afghan Citizen Card) and PoR (Proof of Registration) cards, from Islamabad and Rawalpindi, and that their expulsion from the country is imminent.

Embassy officials have meanwhile expressed serious concerns in meetings with Pakistani authorities and international organizations regarding the mass expulsion of Afghan refugees within such a short timeframe and the unilateral nature of Pakistan’s decision.

The Embassy has shared this matter with Kabul to facilitate discussions on the dignified repatriation of Afghan nationals and to assess the existing challenges surrounding this issue.

This week the International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated that over 18,000 Afghan migrants returned to Afghanistan from Islamabad and Rawalpindi last month.

According to the organization, 9,846 Afghan returnees were identified through border crossing points of Torkham, Chaman, Ghulam Khan, Badini, and Bahramcha.

Since September 15, 2023, at least 824,568 individuals have returned to Afghanistan while two percent (18,577) of this total has returned since January 2025, the IOM said.

According to the report, the fear of arrest (78 percent) and inability to pay house rent (34 percent) are the most common reasons for the return cited among the heads of households returning to Afghanistan.

The IOM also stated that both the fear of arrest and communal pressure to return increased in the past two weeks.

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IOM reports rise in repatriation of Afghan refugees from Islamabad, Rawalpindi 

Since September 15, 2023, at least 824,568 individuals have returned to Afghanistan while two percent (18,577) of this total has returned since January 2025, the IOM said.

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Over 18,000 Afghan migrants returned to Afghanistan from Islamabad and Rawalpindi in January, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported. 

According to the organization, 9,846 Afghan returnees were identified through border crossing points of Torkham, Chaman, Ghulam Khan, Badini, and Bahramcha.

Since September 15, 2023, at least 824,568 individuals have returned to Afghanistan while two percent (18,577) of this total has returned since January 2025, the IOM said.

The IOM said 10 percent of the returnee households were women-headed households, adding that no child-headed households were recorded during the said period. 

More men (52 percent) than women (48 percent) returned during the reporting period.

According to the report, the fear of arrest (78 percent) and inability to pay house rent (34 percent) are the most common reasons for the return cited among the heads of households returning to Afghanistan.

The inability to pay household utilities (30 percent), no employment (26 percent), and communal pressure to return (nine percent) were also cited among reasons. 

The IOM also stated that the fear of arrest and communal pressure to return both increased in the past two weeks.

In addition, 89 percent of Afghans reported family reunions as the reason for choosing their final destination and 67 percent noted the availability of assistance in Afghanistan as another reason. 

 

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Office overseeing Afghan resettlement in US told to start planning closure, sources say

The White House and the U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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The State Department office overseeing the resettlement of Afghans in the United States has been told to develop plans to close by April, according to a U.S. official, a leading advocate and two sources familiar with the directive, a move that could deny up to an estimated 200,000 people new lives in America, Reuters reported.

Family members of Afghan-American U.S. military personnel, children cleared to reunite with their parents, relatives of Afghans already admitted and tens of thousands of Afghans who worked for the U.S. government during the 20-year war are among those who could be turned away if the office is shut, the advocate and the U.S. official said.

“Shutting this down would be a national disgrace, a betrayal of our Afghan allies, of the veterans who fought for them, and of America’s word,” said Shawn VanDiver, founder of #AfghanEvac, the main coalition of veterans and advocacy groups and others that coordinates resettlements with the U.S. government.

The White House and the U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment, read the report.

The development comes as the administration asks embassies worldwide to prepare staff cuts under a directive by U.S. President Donald Trump to overhaul the diplomatic corps and billionaire Elon Musk’s DOGE office pursues a government-wide drive to slash $2 trillion in spending.

The Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, CARE, was set up during the chaotic U.S. pullout from Afghanistan in August 2021 as a temporary effort to relocate to the U.S. Afghans at risk of Islamic Emirate retaliation because they worked for the U.S. government during the war.

It became permanent in October 2022, expanded to Afghans granted refugee status, and has helped resettle some 118,000 people.

VanDiver, the U.S. official and the two sources said they did not know who ordered CARE to begin developing options to close.

Those options would include shuttering processing centers CARE runs in Qatar and Albania where nearly 3,000 Afghans vetted for U.S. resettlement as refugees or Special Immigration Visa (SIV) holders have been stranded for weeks or months, Reuters reported.

Those in the centers, including more than 20 unaccompanied minors bound for reunions with parents, live in modular housing. They receive food and other basic “life support,” but a Trump-ordered foreign aid freeze has ended programs for mental health and children, one source said.

According to both sources, the options for shuttering CARE are being prepared for Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, as well as Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Waltz, a former U.S. special forces soldier who fought in Afghanistan, are among those slated to make a final decision, they said.

“There are definitely all options (for closing CARE) being considered,” said the second source. Both requested anonymity for fear of retaliation by the Trump administration.

The evacuation and resettlement operations have been stalled since Trump, who launched a promised immigration crackdown after taking office in January, halted pending 90-day reviews the U.S. refugee program and foreign aid that funded flights to the U.S. for Afghans cleared for resettlement, read the report.

Trump ordered the reviews to determine the efficiency of the refugee and foreign aid programs and to ensure they align with his foreign policy.

After rigorous background checks, SIVs are awarded to Afghans who worked for the U.S. government during America’s longest war.

UN reports say the Islamic Emirate have jailed, tortured and killed Afghans who fought or worked for the former Western-backed government. The Islamic Emirate deny the allegations, pointing to a general amnesty approved for former government soldiers and officials.

A permanent shutdown of CARE and the Enduring Welcome operations it oversees could leave up to an estimated 200,000 Afghans without paths to the U.S., said VanDiver and the U.S. official.

These comprise some 110,000 Afghans in Afghanistan whose SIV and refugee status applications are being reviewed and some 40,000 others who have been vetted and cleared for flights to Doha and Tirana before travel to the U.S, Reuters reported.

An estimated 50,000 other Afghans are marooned in nearly 90 other countries – about half in Pakistan – approved for U.S. resettlement or awaiting SIV or refugee processing, they said.

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