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US State Department orders nonessential embassy personnel to leave Kabul
The US State Department is downsizing the US Embassy in Kabul and has ordered all nonessential personnel to leave Afghanistan amid concerns of heightened violence as US and NATO troops withdraw.
The department “ordered the departure from U.S. Embassy Kabul of U.S. government employees whose functions can be performed elsewhere,” it noted in a travel advisory issued Tuesday.
In an advisory posted to the embassy’s website, the US stated the “Department of State ordered the departure from U.S. Embassy Kabul of U.S. government employees whose functions can be performed elsewhere due to increasing violence and threat reports in Kabul.
“The Consular Section in U.S. Embassy Kabul will remain open for limited consular services to U.S. citizens and for Afghan Special Immigrant Visa processing,” the statement read.
“Commercial flight options from Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) remain available and the U.S. Embassy strongly suggests that U.S. citizens make plans to leave Afghanistan as soon as possible. Given the security conditions and reduced staffing, the Embassy’s ability to assist U.S. citizens in Afghanistan is extremely limited,” read the statement.
U.S. officials would not confirm the number of embassy personnel departing, but insisted it would be small and that all offices and services will remain open at the embassy.
“This does not reflect the diminution of our diplomatic engagement in Afghanistan,” a State Department official told NPR.
He did not want to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on the record about the embassy departures. “I would call it a reposturing so that we can prepare for the departure of troops in a prudent manner while continuing our diplomatic priorities in country.”
The departing diplomats will continue to do their work remotely.
“As we’ve all discovered during COVID days, we are able to telework more effectively than we ever imagined. That’s what we’re going to be looking at doing,” the official told NPR.
State Department officials say they will have to find alternatives to medical evacuation and other services that the U.S. military had been providing embassy employees.
“There are a number of security-related things that the military has provided previously, and as they depart, we need to take those functions as best we can,” NPR quoted the official as saying.
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Pakistan to repatriate nearly 20,000 Afghans awaiting US resettlement
Authorities will also share verified data of the affected individuals with relevant departments to support implementation.
Pakistan will repatriate nearly 20,000 Afghan nationals currently awaiting resettlement in the United States, The Nation reported, citing official sources.
The move affects 19,973 Afghans living across Pakistan.
A federal directive will instruct provincial chief secretaries and police chiefs in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and the Islamabad Capital Territory to begin the repatriation process immediately.
Authorities will also share verified data of the affected individuals with relevant departments to support implementation.
Following the Islamic Emirate’s return to power in 2021, more than 100,000 Afghans fled to Pakistan, many of whom had worked with the US and UK governments, international organizations, or aid agencies.
Thousands have remained stranded in Pakistan for over four years while awaiting US resettlement clearance.
Prospects for relocation have dimmed amid a suspension of case processing by the US administration, according to The Nation.
Under Pakistan’s Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP), all Afghan nationals still awaiting US relocation will now be returned to Afghanistan.
Terrorist activities continue to be observed along Afghanistan borders and along the India–Pakistan–Afghanistan corridor, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview published on Monday.
Speaking to Russia-based media outlet TV BRICS, Lavrov pointed to ongoing concerns in the Middle East, including its Asian regions.
He highlighted the importance of collaboration with India at the United Nations to advance a global counter-terrorism convention.
Lavrov stated that while the draft convention has already been prepared, consensus on its adoption has not yet been reached.
Russia has repeatedly expressed concern about militant threats from Afghanistan. The Islamic Emirate, however, has dismissed the concerns saying that it will not allow Afghanistan’s soil to be used against any country.
Noorullah Noori, Afghanistan’s Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs, held a phone conversation with Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, to discuss bilateral border cooperation.
According to the Iranian news agency IRNA, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening border collaboration, with a particular focus on the ongoing renovation and updating of border markers. They also agreed to accelerate joint technical and legal meetings to enhance coordination.
As part of the agreement, the next meeting of senior border officials from Afghanistan and Iran is scheduled to take place in Iran in 1405 (2026–2027).
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Saar: Regional Problems, Opportunities, and Challenges discussed
Pakistan to repatriate nearly 20,000 Afghans awaiting US resettlement
Terrorist activities observed along Afghanistan borders, says Lavrov
Afghan border minister holds phone talks with Iran’s deputy foreign minister
Afghanistan–China joint market opens in Kabul
Pakistan approves re-export of stranded Afghan transit trade cargo
ATN secures broadcast rights to Carabao Cup semis across Afghanistan
Pakistan army orders evacuation of Tirah Valley, fears of mass displacement grow
Afghan traders sign deal to import pharmaceuticals from Bangladesh
Tahawol: Pakistan’s Foreign Policy Failure of Towards Afghanistan discussed
Saar: Regional Problems, Opportunities, and Challenges discussed
Saar: Afghanistan’s relations and opportunities with regional countries
Tahawol: Kabul’s response to Pakistan’s new accusation discussed
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