Overview
- Taliban Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund invited Afghans who fled after 2021 to return home under a general amnesty with assurances they would face no harm.
- President Trump’s recent proclamation bars Afghan nationals under a travel restriction on 12 countries and suspended a key refugee resettlement program in January.
- Pakistan’s deportation campaign has prompted nearly one million Afghans to leave since October 2023 to avoid arrest and expulsion.
- The Taliban cited Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada’s blanket pardon for those who served alongside U.S.-led forces, promising no reprisals for past affiliations.
- United Nations and rights groups warn that the Taliban’s strict Islamic laws and severe restrictions on women continue to erode confidence in Kabul’s governance.