U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that at least five countries have expressed willingness to receive Afghan refugees currently stranded in Qatar, as the Trump administration continues efforts to find alternatives to returning them to Afghanistan.

Speaking before lawmakers, Rubio said the administration does not want to force Afghans housed at Camp As Sayliyah in Doha to return to Afghanistan and has been in discussions with several countries about resettling them.

“We’re obviously operating right now under a directive that prohibits the entry of Afghans into the United States,” Rubio said, adding that officials have been working daily to identify third-country resettlement options.

More than 1,100 Afghans have remained at the former U.S. military base in Qatar since the administration halted refugee admissions for Afghans who worked with the U.S. military.

During the hearing, Representative Grace Meng raised concerns about reports that some Afghans could be transferred to countries facing security or humanitarian challenges like Congo. She argued that such moves could endanger former interpreters, special operations partners and the family members of U.S. service personnel.

Rubio responded that he did not believe any of the countries under consideration were conflict zones, but acknowledged that no single country is likely to accept all of the stranded Afghans.

“I don’t think there’s one country that’s going to take all 1,000,” Rubio said, adding that the United States is seeking countries willing to share responsibility and provide acceptable resettlement options for those affected.

Qatar has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting peace and stability in Afghanistan, highlighting its role in mediation efforts and ongoing engagement through the United Nations-led Doha Process.

Speaking before the UN General Assembly during a meeting on strengthening mediation in the peaceful settlement of disputes, Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani, pointed to Doha’s diplomatic efforts in Afghanistan as a key example of successful mediation.

She noted that Qatar’s facilitation efforts culminated in the signing of the peace agreement between the United States and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) in Doha on February 29, 2020.

The Qatari envoy said her country has continued its humanitarian, development and political engagement in Afghanistan since then. She also highlighted Qatar’s role in hosting the UN-led Doha Process on Afghanistan, which has brought together the UN Secretary-General and special envoys for Afghanistan in a series of meetings held in May 2023 and in February and July 2024.

Al-Thani added that Qatar hosted the third meeting of the Counter-Narcotics Working Group and the second meeting of the Private Sector Working Group last July as part of ongoing international efforts to address key challenges facing Afghanistan.

Qatar has played a central role in diplomatic engagement on Afghanistan over the past decade, serving as a venue for negotiations and international discussions aimed at promoting peace, stability and economic development in the country.

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said that Pakistan’s current security situation and ongoing challenges are the result of Islamabad’s long-standing policy of supporting “extremism” and using it as an instrument of foreign policy against Afghanistan over the past four decades.

In a statement posted on his X account on Tuesday, Karzai said Afghanistan is among the few countries in the region that has maintained friendly relations with European states for more than a century and has consistently engaged in constructive cooperation with European institutions.

He expressed hope that Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Vice-President of the European Commission, would take into account what he described as the “objective realities” of the region, including the claim that Afghanistan and its people have been

victims of terrorism originating from Pakistan, when assessing the root causes of regional instability that have led to civilian casualties and damage to public infrastructure in Afghanistan.

Karzai added that Afghans appreciate continued European cooperation and seek to further strengthen and expand relations with Europe.

The remarks came after Kaja Kallas, during a joint press conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad on Monday, said that recent clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan have had serious humanitarian consequences and pose risks to regional security.