New humanitarian crisis looms in Afghanistan as Pakistan forces refugees to return

Afghan refugee families arrive on foot to cross the Pakistan-Afghanistan Torkham border on Nov. 2, 2023, following Pakistan's decision to expel people illegally staying in the country. (AFP/File Photo)
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Updated 04 April 2025
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New humanitarian crisis looms in Afghanistan as Pakistan forces refugees to return

  • Mass deportation coincides with huge foreign aid cuts under new US policies
  • Deadline for hundreds of thousands of Afghans to leave Pakistan was March 31

KABUL: Pakistan’s plan to expel most of its Afghan refugees this year will trigger a new humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, aid groups warn, as foreign funding has been slashed and existing infrastructure is inadequate to support returnees.

Pakistan is home to about 3 million Afghans, many of whom fled their country during decades of war. This number includes Afghans born in Pakistan, as well as those who sought shelter after the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

They are the main group facing deportation under the Pakistani government’s nationwide crackdown to force out foreigners living in the country illegally. The drive also includes Afghan Citizen Card holders, who were given a deadline to leave by March 31. Pakistani authorities confirmed last week they were not extending the deadline.

According to UN data, 800,000 people with Afghan Citizen Cards and 1 million undocumented Afghans are currently set to be expelled. Since the launch of the crackdown in 2023, more than 843,000 Afghans have returned to their homeland.

“If they come in hundreds of thousands or millions, it will create another crisis in the country,” Abdul Fatah Jawad, director of Ehsas Welfare and Social Services Organization, told Arab News.

“Finding houses, jobs, and educational opportunities will be very difficult for this huge number of returnees. Health is another challenge.”

Over the past two months, more than 200 health facilities across Afghanistan have been either suspended or closed, and another 200 will shut by June due to external funding shortfalls, which come amid massive US aid cuts under the Donald Trump administration.

The US, which invaded Afghanistan in 2001, was its largest aid donor. It has been cutting its support since 2021. Washington withdrew its troops from Afghanistan after the collapse of its Western-backed regime and imposed sanctions on the country’s new rulers. It also froze all projects after spending billions on two decades of military and development operations.

The moves led to Afghanistan’s economic collapse and the disruption of basic services such as healthcare, education, and food distribution. Millions of people were left without essential support due to the collapse of institutions and infrastructure.

As the economy continues to reel and new aid cuts are implemented, the return of refugees will place an additional strain on a system that may not be able to bear it.

“With the overall shortage of donors’ financial aid, especially after the recent US funding cuts, Afghanistan is not prepared to receive large numbers of returnees at once and provide them with housing and livelihood facilities. This is a significant challenge and will certainly exacerbate the ongoing crisis in the country,” said Fareed-ud-Din Noori, country director of Women for Afghan Women, a US-based organization that has been providing shelter, protection and food services to returnees.

“Several international and national organizations that provided critical services to returnees in resettlement and reintegration areas in the country were forced to either close their offices or suspend their projects due to unavailability of funds.”

The prospect of immediately finding jobs for hundreds of thousands of families is unlikely.

“With unemployment levels skyrocketing across the country and livelihood prospects looking grim, these returnees will face significant challenges in starting a new life in the country. Afghanistan’s aid-dependent economy will come under increasing pressure,” Noori said.

“The international community’s financial support is compulsory to enable a proper response to the influx of returnees.”

The Afghan government, too, does not have a clear plan of how to handle the number of returning nationals and integrate them with the rest of the society. Its Refugee and Repatriation Minister Mawlawi Abdul Kabir said last month that Afghanistan would encourage its nationals to come back to the country, but they should be given time and return “according to an organized and gradual mechanism instead of forced deportation.”

Dr. Tayeb Khan, economist and lecturer at Kateb University in Kabul, warned that refugee children in particular will be affected by the forced migration.

“All of this is putting increasing pressure on the country’s fragile economy, leading to greater dependence on humanitarian aid and deepening the poverty situation. The government alone will not be able to integrate children of these returnees into schools and provide them with essential health services,” he said.

“Most of these refugees have established their own lives and businesses over the years they have lived abroad … When they are forced to return to Afghanistan against their will, they will struggle with finding a job or work at first. Tens of thousands of people in the country are already finding it very difficult to get employed, especially after development projects were suspended following the withdrawal of international funding from Afghanistan.”


Zelensky says won’t play Putin ‘games’ with short truce

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Zelensky says won’t play Putin ‘games’ with short truce

“This is more of a theatrical performance on his part. Because in two or three days, it is impossible to develop a plan for the next steps to end the war,” Zelensky said
He said Ukraine would not be “playing games to create a pleasant atmosphere to allow for Putin’s exit from isolation on 9 May“

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed a three-day truce ordered by Russian leader Vladimir Putin as theatrics, but said Kyiv was ready for a full ceasefire.
Moscow said the truce, set to coincide with its World War II commemorations on May 9, was aimed at testing Kyiv’s “readiness” for long-term peace, accusing Zelensky of making a “direct threat” to events on the holiday.
The Kremlin rejected an unconditional 30-day ceasefire proposed by Kyiv and Washington in March, and Putin has since offered little to end the three-year Russia invasion.
“This is more of a theatrical performance on his part. Because in two or three days, it is impossible to develop a plan for the next steps to end the war,” Zelensky said.
He was speaking Friday to a small group of journalists including AFP in remarks embargoed until Saturday.
Some in Ukraine have criticized the truce as an attempt to prevent Kyiv from disrupting the World War II anniversary celebrations, with foreign leaders due in Moscow to watch a military parade on Red Square and an address by Putin.
Zelensky said Ukraine would not be “playing games to create a pleasant atmosphere to allow for Putin’s exit from isolation on 9 May.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the ceasefire was aimed at testing “Kyiv’s readiness to seek ways to achieve long-term sustainable peace.”
Russian shelling killed two people in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region on Saturday, while a drone strike on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson left one other person dead, regional officials said.
Russian authorities meanwhile accused Ukraine of an overnight attack on the southern port city of Novorossiysk, damaging apartment buildings and injuring five people.
Leaders of around 20 countries, including China’s Xi Jinping, have accepted invitations to join the May 9 celebration, according to the Kremlin.
Zelensky said some countries had approached Kyiv to warn they were traveling to Russia and had requested safety.
“Our position is very simple toward all countries that have traveled or are traveling to Russia on May 9 — we cannot take responsibility for what is happening on the territory of the Russian Federation,” he said.
“They are ensuring your safety,” Zelensky said, adding that Russia “may take various steps on its part, such as arson, explosions, and so on and then blame us.”
Zelensky did not say what Ukraine would do during the truce, but Russia jumped on the comments, accusing Kyiv of making a “direct threat” to the commemorations.
“He is threatening the physical safety of veterans who will come to parades and celebrations on the holy day,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram. “His statement... is, of course, a direct threat.”
Russian officials have promised grand celebrations for the occasion, during which Putin will seek to rally support for his troops fighting in Ukraine.
Russian troops have been making gruelling gains on several parts of the front, as both Moscow and Kyiv have stepped up their aerial attacks.
The United States has warned it could abandon efforts to broker a ceasefire if it does not see progress.
Washington is seeking “a complete, durable ceasefire and an end to the conflict,” rather than a “three-day moment so you can celebrate something else,” US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said this week.
Bruce said it would ultimately be up to Trump to decide whether to move ahead with diplomatic efforts.
Trump has overhauled US policy toward Russia since taking office, initiating a rapprochement with the Kremlin.
This culminated in an on-camera clash between Trump and Zelensky at the White House on February 28, where both leaders had been set to sign a mineral deal granting US access to Ukrainian resources in exchange for some protection.
Ukraine has since renegotiated the deal, which would see Washington and Kyiv jointly develop and invest in Ukraine’s critical mineral resources.
Zelensky on Friday said the deal was beneficial to both sides and protected Ukraine’s interests, even though the accord offers no concrete security guarantees for Kyiv.
That followed a meeting between Trump and Zelensky at the end of April before Pope Francis’s funeral at the Vatican, the first encounter since their public clash.
“We had the best conversation out of all those that preceded it,” Zelensky said Friday.
“I am confident that after our meeting in the Vatican, President Trump began to look at things a little differently.”

Serbia’s President Vucic cuts short US visit and returns home after falling ill

Updated 03 May 2025
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Serbia’s President Vucic cuts short US visit and returns home after falling ill

  • Vucic suddenly fell ill during a meeting in the US
  • He was admitted to the Belgrade Military Hospital upon arrival

BELGRADE: Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic has cut short a visit to the United States and returned to Serbia over an unspecified health emergency, state RTS television reported on Saturday.
Vucic suddenly fell ill during a meeting in the US and decided to return home after consulting doctors, the report said. He was admitted to the Belgrade Military Hospital upon arrival, it added.
Vucic was previously in Miami, Florida, where he had met with former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. Vucic had said he also was hoping to meet with US President Donald Trump.
Richard Grenell, US presidential envoy for special missions, expressed hope that Vucic would recover. “Sorry to miss you but hope all is ok,” Grenell wrote on X.
It was not immediately clear what happened and Vucic’s office said they will inform the public later. Vucic, 55, is known to have high blood pressure.
Serbia’s populist leader also has said he would travel to Russia later this month to attend a Victory Day parade in Moscow, despite warnings from European Union officials that this could affect Serbia’s bid to join the bloc.


A notorious drug gang is in the crosshairs of a French police investigation of prison attacks

Updated 03 May 2025
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A notorious drug gang is in the crosshairs of a French police investigation of prison attacks

  • Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said one of the suspected organizers of last month’s prison attacks claims to have ties with the DZ Mafia
  • The Paris prosecutor said 21 people detained for suspected involvement

PARIS: Anti-organized crime specialist investigators probing a wave of attacks on prisons and prison staff in France are looking at the possible involvement of a notorious drug cartel, the Paris prosecutor said Saturday.
The so-called DZ Mafia is suspected of being one of the main narco-trafficking networks working out of the southern French port city of Marseille, which has a long history as a hub for the drug trade and banditry associated with it.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said at a news conference Saturday that one of the suspected organizers of last month’s prison attacks claims to have ties with the DZ Mafia. She said police investigators will examine “the real or supposed influence of the DZ Mafia” in the violence.
Several prisons were targeted by gunfire and arson, including attacks on prison workers’ homes and on cars at a prison service school, in the Paris area and elsewhere, the prosecutor said.
The letters “DDPF” were graffitied on some targets, believed to stand for “défense des prisonniers français,” which translates as “defense of French prisoners.”
The Paris prosecutor said 21 people detained for suspected involvement in the violence have been handed preliminary charges for attempted murder and other alleged crimes.
French authorities in recent months have stepped up policing against drug trafficking, concerned about growing cocaine use in France and violence associated with the trafficking of that and other drugs.


Waltz ouster adds to tumult in Trump’s national security team but consolidates power in fewer hands

Updated 03 May 2025
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Waltz ouster adds to tumult in Trump’s national security team but consolidates power in fewer hands

  • The staff shake-up comes as the administration confronts foreign policy issues
  • The Pentagon, too, has been a source of tumult, with Hegseth directing firings of top military officers and now ousting his own top civilian advisers in response to leak allegations

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s removal of national security adviser Mike Waltz brings further disruption to a national security team that has already endured scrutiny over using the Signal messaging app to discuss sensitive military operations as well as mounting questions over the leadership of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the firing of the four-star general who led the National Security Agency.
The staff shake-up comes as the administration confronts foreign policy issues that include Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear ambitions, a trade fight with China and conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine that have defied easy resolutions despite Trump’s initial confidence that he could settle both wars quickly.
But Waltz’s departure also presents an opportunity for Trump to consolidate foreign policy in just a few hands, with the Republican president asserting even more power over decision-making and relying on a select group of people who have entirely embraced his “America First” agenda.
Those influential voices include special envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who on Thursday was named to replace Waltz on an acting basis while Waltz was nominated as the US ambassador to the United Nations.
“I would think he has just about what he wants” in terms of consolidated power, said William Banks, founding director of what is now called the Syracuse University Institute for Security Policy and Law. “There aren’t many outliers.”
Gaining Trump’s confidence or losing it
Rubio may once have seemed an unlikely choice for such prominent positions given that the onetime Trump rival and hawkish conservative was derided by Trump as “Little Marco” during the 2016 presidential campaign.
But since then, the former Florida senator has proved adept at aligning himself with Trump’s foreign policy positions, presiding over a massive overhaul of the State Department while steering clear of some of the pitfalls that other national security leaders have encountered.
Waltz, for instance, faced intense criticism in March after revelations that he added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a private text chain on an encrypted messaging app that was used to discuss planning for an airstrike against Houthi militants in Yemen.
He also was considered to be part of a neoconservative wing of the Republican Party that had supported the war in Iraq and other US military interventions abroad, including in Syria and Libya, that have now found disfavor in today’s GOP. The former Florida congressman has advocated for further diplomatically isolating Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Trump has viewed at moments with admiration.
The Pentagon, too, has been a source of tumult, with Hegseth directing firings of top military officers and now ousting his own top civilian advisers in response to leak allegations. There are now multiple vacancies in key positions at a critical time for the military. Other missteps have included a broad edict for the military services to erase images celebrating diversity, leading to the brief removal of online content of prominent figures such as Jackie Robinson and causing a public outcry.
Reports of Elon Musk being offering a classified Pentagon briefing on China and Hegseth posting airstrike plans in two Signal chats with dozens of people have spurred calls for the defense secretary’s firing. But Trump has stood by him.
Trump’s national security team could be “charitably” described as “a work in progress,” said Daniel Fried, a former US ambassador to Poland and a National Security Council official under both the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, citing what he said were concerns about coordination and portfolios.
“I’m not saying that the Trump foreign policy team is doomed. But the lack of coordination, the lack of consistency, the sense of chaotic decision-making isn’t just a media myth,” Fried said.
Trump’s approach to foreign policy
The national security adviser post, established in 1953, matters to the functioning of a cohesive government. That official is intended to serve as a hub in coordinating information, soliciting advice among agencies and developing policy recommendations for the president.
But the argument for balance in policymaking is unlikely to resonate with Trump. Over the course of his career, he has claimed expert knowledge on everything from Islamic militants to taxes and technology.
Heather Conley, a former deputy assistant secretary of state during the George W. Bush administration, said Trump often gives greater weight to advice and recommendations from television and social media than his senior advisers.
“There is very little role for policy coordination because the president is clearly setting the policy on a daily, hourly basis,” Conley said.
The NSC didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Even as Trump has elevated Rubio, there are signs that Trump also has welcomed the input of a far-less conventional source: far-right activist Laura Loomer.
Last month, she appeared to take credit for Trump’s firing of Air Force Gen. Tim Haugh as head of the NSA and the Pentagon’s Cyber Command after a 33-year career in intelligence and cyber operations. Loomer said she had raised questions to Trump about Haugh’s ties to retired Gen. Mark Milley, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Trump’s first term but later became a critic, and she questioned Haugh’s loyalty.
On Friday, Loomer said she recommended to Trump in a private meeting last month that he remove Waltz from his job.
Changes from the first Trump administration
The Waltz ouster notwithstanding, Trump has tried to project a more ordered administration than during his first term. Those four years were marked by big personnel changes among his national security leadership and bitter disagreements with officials he felt were trying to rein him in or box in his choices.
He replaced three national security advisers, and fired an FBI director and secretary of state. He clashed with one defense secretary who resigned after differing with Trump over the abrupt withdrawal of US troops from Syria and dismissed another who broke with him over using the military during racial justice protests in 2020.
The removal of a national security adviser with views not in perfect alignment with his own may help free Trump from some of the constraints he felt from government agencies in his first term.
Yet at a moment when Trump is trying to find endgames to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza while trying to negotiate an Iran nuclear deal and waging a global tariff war, leaning on Rubio to serve in both roles may be suboptimal.
Appearing Thursday night on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity,” Rubio centered his comments on the foreign policy news of the day — including the US role in trying to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine — rather than on a leadership transition that now has him juggling two major positions.
“The fact that Rubio has multiple titles may mean that his stock is rising, but not necessarily,” Fried said. “And that’s part of the problem. If it’s not clear who is in charge and it’s not clear where you go to get answers, that’s not a recipe for leverage. It’s a recipe for uncertainty and paralysis.”


Kremlin calls Ukrainian response to Putin’s ceasefire offer ambiguous, calls for clarity

Updated 03 May 2025
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Kremlin calls Ukrainian response to Putin’s ceasefire offer ambiguous, calls for clarity

  • Zelensky also said that Ukraine, given the continued war with Russia, could not guarantee the safety of any foreign dignitaries who came to Moscow for the May 9 parade
  • Russia’s Foreign Ministry said his comments amounted to a threat

MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Saturday it wanted a definitive response from Ukraine to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer of a three-day ceasefire next week, criticizing the reaction so far as ambiguous and historically wrong.
Putin on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany in World War Two.
The Kremlin said the 72-hour ceasefire would run on May 8, May 9 — when Putin will host international leaders on Moscow’s Red Square, including Chinese President Xi Jinping — and May 10.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to rule out such a brief ceasefire earlier on Saturday, saying he was only ready to sign up to a ceasefire that would last at least 30 days, an idea Putin has said needs a lot of work before it could become a reality.
Zelensky also said that Ukraine, given the continued war with Russia, could not guarantee the safety of any foreign dignitaries who came to Moscow for the May 9 parade.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said his comments amounted to a threat, while Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said nobody could guarantee that the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv would survive to see May 10 if Ukraine attacked Moscow during the May 9 celebrations.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov convened a special conference call after Zelensky’s comments.
He told reporters that Putin’s three-day offer had been a test to assess Kyiv’s readiness to search for a peaceful settlement to end the war.
“The reaction of the Ukrainian authorities to Russia’s initiative to introduce a ceasefire is a test of Ukraine’s readiness for peace. And we will, of course, await not ambiguous but definitive statements and, most importantly, actions aimed at de-escalating the conflict over the public holidays,” Peskov said.
He accused the Ukrainian authorities of espousing “neo-Nazism,” an allegation Kyiv has repeatedly rejected as false, and of not considering the victory over Nazi Germany to be important enough to mark properly.
Peskov also commented on media reports that Ukrainian soldiers will take part in World War Two commemorations in Britain, calling the move “sacrilege.”