Islamabad: A senior US Administration official dealing with refugees and migration, Julieta Valls Noyes, held a meeting with foreign secretary Cyrus Qazi and Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, Ambassador Asif Durrani, The Express Tribune reported.
According to the daily, the foreign office issued no press release, but Noyes shared on X with an image of her meeting with Ambassador Durrani with a terse statement stating, “Good to visit Pakistan Foreign Ministry and see special representative for Afghanistan Asif Durrani again today (December 5) for discussion on Afghan refugees, protection and resettlement.”
The US official began her four-day trip to Pakistan with a series of meetings at the foreign office and is first of three Biden administration officials that are visiting Pakistan within the next few days. The Express Tribune stated in its report that she will continue to meet other senior officials during her stay in Pakistan in what seems like an effort on the part of Washington to find a solution to those stranded Afghan individuals who are eligible for migration to the US.
US Special Representative for Afghanistan Tom West is due in Islamabad later this week to discuss the overall Afghan situation particularly the current state of the relationship between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban
Pakistan, earlier, launched a crackdown against Afghans living in the country illegally following the expiration of the deadline on October 31. Since the decision, the US has been in touch with Pakistan to ensure that Afghans who are eligible for immigration to the US are spared.
There are about 25,000 Afghans, who according to Washington, are in Pakistan and waiting for their immigration to the US. Those Afghans worked for the US during its military campaign in Afghanistan. But after the US withdrawal, they have been stuck in Pakistan, waiting for the process of immigration to complete.
