WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd August, 2021) The United States will expand the resettlement program for the Afghans who aided the US troops amid growing threat from the radical Taliban movement (banned in Russia) and expects to admit thousands of people from the conflict-torn country, the US State Department said Monday.
"In light of increased levels of Taliban violence, the U.S. government is working to provide certain Afghans, including those who worked with the United States, the opportunity for refugee resettlement to the United States. This designation expands the opportunity to permanently resettle in the United States to many thousands of Afghans and their immediate family members," the statement said, adding that the program will now cover those who were previously not eligible for a special immigrant visa due to various reasons.
The State Department stressed that the access to the P-2 program is a "critical mechanism to provide protection" for the individuals who may be at risk of persecution in Afghanistan due to their US affiliation. The program will cover locally-employed staff, interpreters, people who worked for US government-funded projects or received grants, and employees of US media organizations and NGOs.
Afghanistan has witnessed a rise in violence in recent weeks as the Taliban stepped up its offensive after international troops began withdrawing from the country in May. The troop pullout, scheduled to be completed by September, was one of the points of the agreement that the radical group and the United States reached in Doha in February 2020.
Over the recent months, local interpreters and other staff began facing increasing threats from the Taliban for helping foreign forces throughout the last twenty years of the war in Afghanistan. Washington vowed to ensure their safety, and earlier in July, US President Joe Biden announced relocation flights from Afghanistan for interpreters and other allies.
