Kamal Ghorui
US is negotiating with countries in Asia and Africa to take 1100 Afghans who have been stuck in Qatar for over a year now.
The United States State Department has been negotiating with countries in Asia and Africa to take the 1100 Afghans who have been stranded on a former US military base in Qatar for over a year. They were evacuated by the Biden administration but now they can’t enter the US as the Donald Trump administration barred entry for Afghans. The US wants to empty the former military camp As Sayliyah, and missed the last deadline of March 31, the Wall Street Journal reported. The US is in negotiations with at least three countries, two in sub-Saharan Africa and one in Southeast Asia, to take in these Afghans, US officials confirmed to the Journal. Many of these Afghans helped the US in its war in Afghanistan. After the US withdrew its troops from Afghanistan in 2021, Camp As Sayliyah became a safe shelter for Afghans who worked with the US and applied to come to the US. This became their waiting station as the US processed the final approval for their paperwork. The process continued through 2024 and many Afghans left the camp and entered the US after their approval. But after Trump came into office, the process was halted. And now they have nowhere to go. The State Department said they can’t take them to the US and they can’t return to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. After the DC shooting in November 2025 by an Afghan who worked with the CIA on humanitarian parole, the administration paused all entry of Afghan nationals.The US wants to close the camp as to keep it running, the State Department has to spend $10 million a month. Qatar also wanted the US to close the camp as it was not meant to be permanent. “The US tried and failed to get Arab and Muslim-majority nations to take the Afghans, according to one of the US officials, prompting them to open negotiations with countries farther afield,” the Journal report said. “The real story here is the Biden Administration’s chaotic and poorly executed withdrawal from Afghanistan, which created a crisis we are still dealing with today, including many who were not properly vetted and were placed on temporary platforms with promises that could not be kept,” Tommy Pigott, State Department spokesperson, told WSJ. The US now offers up to $4,500 for each principal applicant and around $1,200 per family member to return to Afghanistan.
