As many as 40 former Afghanistan Air Force pilots and engineers, who helped the US during the war in Afghanistan, have been stuck in Pakistan for months awaiting resettlement in the US. The pilots and engineers are concerned about their safety and the safety of their families.
They are calling on the US government to expedite their cases.
A member of the group, who didn’t want to be named, told KabulNow on Wednesday that they do not have access to adequate accommodation and food and their children cannot go to school. They need financial aid in order to survive, he said.
| German and US rifts crippled efforts to build an effective police force in Afghanistan
| Group of US Army veterans accuse Joe Biden of ‘dishonesty’ over Afghanistan withdrawal
| Spoils of war: How Taliban commanders compete to sell and smuggle American weapons
“I fought along the US forces for yours, but they have abandoned me in Pakistan, where I have no security,” he said. And despite legal documents, he and his family gets harassed by Pakistani authorities, he complained.
He fears that they may be identified and handed over to the Taliban by Pakistan, in which case there will be no hope for life for them, he said.
The group complains that neither the US nor any organisation related to it have been providing them with any help. But the country still remains their only hope.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, thousands of former members of Afghanistan security forces, who were not evacuated by Western forces, have fled to neighbouring countries.