US to deport 150 Afghan immigrants to Afghanistan via Pakistan

The Trump administration plans to deport more than 150 Afghan immigrants currently detained in the U.S. back to Afghanistan via Pakistan, according to court documents. Daily Times reports the move comes amid a strict immigration crackdown, while CityNews notes that the initial deportations could involve flights from Louisiana to Pakistan as early as Monday. Advocacy groups have warned that these deportations could expose vulnerable Afghans to serious risks, including retaliation from the Taliban.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed Pakistan's concerns regarding terrorism originating from Afghan territory during a meeting in Atlanta. According to Dawn, Rubio stated that Washington has heard Pakistan's concerns that the Taliban have not done enough to constrain terrorist attacks. Rubio added that the U.S. does not want Pakistan to be targeted by terrorism and expressed a willingness to play a productive role if needed, though he noted the U.S. does not necessarily have the closest relationship with the Afghan Taliban.

Hindustan Times reports that these remarks coincided with reports of Pakistani forces hitting Afghan Taliban border posts and military installations in retaliatory strikes. According to Radio Pakistan, reported by Hindustan Times, Afghan Taliban forces opened "unprovoked" firing in the Angoor Adda area of South Waziristan on October 27, leading to Pakistani retaliation.

Brief written by urgent.news from Daily Times, Dawn, Hindustan Times - World News, CityNews, Winnipeg Free Press — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.