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Afghan interpreters with Australian visas unable to get to safety
The Australian government has granted 90 visas since the beginning of May to Afghans who worked alongside Australian forces but the interpreters say they have been unable to leave Afghanistan due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The Guardian Australia reported that while officials have offered to help the Afghans get on commercial flights to Australia in the near future, this has not been possible for many.
Speaking from Kabul on Tuesday, one interpreter said that without access to military flights, their situation would not change.
“If they can’t relocate us, what is the point of having a visa?” the man said. He was among 41 interpreters who wrote to the government twice earlier this year pleading for urgent help.
Last month Australia suddenly closed its Kabul embassy, saying it could not guarantee the security of staff in the light of the impending withdrawal of Australian troops by 11 September.
The Guardian reported that on Tuesday another interpreter said his family was awaiting passports, but without access to the embassy and its staff he had no certainty of being able to leave.
Another former translator has been sent into hiding after a letter stamped and signed by the Taliban was taped to his front gate, ABC reported.
Earlier on Tuesday Scott Morrison told reporters the government was “working urgently and steadfastly” to resolve the matter.
“This is not the first time that we have had to support in these circumstances, bringing people to Australia under the appropriate visa arrangements for humanitarian visas that are in place,” the prime minister said.
“We have done this before safely. And we will be able to do it again … We are very aware of it. And we are working urgently and steadfastly and patiently to ensure that we do this in the appropriate way as we have done on earlier occasions. I was the minister responsible at the time last time we were doing this when I was in immigration, so I’m very well aware of the sensitivities and the need to move swiftly.”
In March 2020, Australia closed its borders to non-nationals and non-residents due to the Coronavirus pandemic and has since been allowing only limited international arrivals, mainly citizens returning from abroad.
Mahmood Khan Achakzai, a member of Pakistan’s National Assembly and head of the Pakhtunkhwa Awami National Party, has said that if capable statesmen had been in power, people living on both sides of the Durand Line could have moved freely across the line.
Speaking during a podcast interview, Achakzai said that countries with histories of major conflict, including Russia, Germany and the United Kingdom, now maintain far more open borders despite past wars. He said that in many such regions, only a “paper line” remains, with limited border restrictions.
Drawing comparisons with the disputed Durand Line boundary between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Achakzai argued that a similar arrangement could have been possible in South Asia.
“What is the problem here? A Punjabi could dance in Kandahar and a Pashtun could come here. Even if we are not formally one country, we could have effectively functioned like one,” he said.
The Pakistani politician also referred to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the later U.S.-led intervention, saying Afghanistan has the right to seek war reparations from those countries to support reconstruction efforts.
Achakzai further criticised the treatment of Pashtuns in Pakistan, alleging that individuals in cities including Lahore and Karachi have faced detention and deportation.
Kyrgyzstan has completed major construction work on its territory under the regional energy project CASA-1000, according to a recent report by the Eurasian Stabilization and Development Fund (ESDF). With key infrastructure now in place, further progress on the project depends on the completion of construction in Afghanistan, which is expected by the end of 2027.
The report notes that Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan have largely finalized their respective infrastructure components and are now awaiting the completion of the Afghan section before moving forward with full operational stages.
The CASA-1000 project, valued at approximately $1.2 billion, aims to establish a high-voltage electricity transmission line linking Central and South Asia. The initiative is designed to enable Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to export surplus hydropower during summer months, when electricity demand rises in Pakistan and Afghanistan due to increased use of cooling systems.
Construction work in Afghanistan was suspended in August 2021, at a stage when only about 18 percent of transmission structures had been installed, although more than 90 percent of equipment had already been delivered to the country. Following extended negotiations and security assurances, work on the Afghan section resumed in December 2024.
ESDF experts say that once construction in Afghanistan is completed, participating countries will be able to begin technical testing of the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) system. A full launch of the regional energy corridor is expected by the end of 2027, marking a significant milestone in regional energy integration between Central and South Asia.
Afghan scholars have described the “martyrdom” of Maulana Muhammad Idris, a prominent Pakistani religious scholar, as a major loss and have extended their condolences over his death to all scholars worldwide, particularly to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan.
In a condolence message, Afghan scholars stated: “Killing scholars is a grave injustice that brings the wrath and anger of Almighty Allah and is considered an unforgivable crime. We, the scholars of Afghanistan, strongly condemn such actions.”
They also urged the government of Pakistan to take serious measures to prevent the targeting of religious scholars.
Maulana Muhammad Idris was killed on Tuesday in an armed attack in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
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