Afghan pilots in the queue after Trump's Stop of the US settlement

Afghan pilots in the queue after Trump's Stop of the US settlement

Islamabad - when Thaussed Khan flew through the clouds over his hometown Kabul for the first time with his transport aircraft, he felt a pride that he could not put into words. "I flew over my parents' house," he said CNN on a quiet spring morning in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. "It was so much joy that I can still taste it and feel in my heart."

The role of the Afghan pilots in the war

During the 20th War against the Taliban, Afghan Air Force pilots played a crucial role by flewing with American colleagues who caused serious losses among radical Islamists. This coalition ended in August 2021 when the foreign troops were deducted and Kabul fell into the hands of the Taliban.

Khan is now in neighboring Pakistan with his young family and is very afraid that something could happen to them should you return to an Afghanistan that is dominated by the forces against which he fought. The tense anti-migration policy in Washington and Islamabad make it increasingly difficult to find a safe alternative, especially since a period is approaching until the end of this month.

The destruction of Afghanistan and its consequences

The war, which began in 2001 with the US invasion after the attacks on September 11, has hit the civilian population of Afghanistan, which is still recovering from the consequences. The fall of the Taliban by the US-led coalition brought profound changes, including return to democracy and significant improvements for Afghan women. But war and instability raged over large parts of the country, especially in rural regions.

Tens of thousands of people were killed. In the first six months of 2021, the civil losses rose to 5,183 deaths, while the US troops withdrew from Afghanistan and increasingly rely on the Afghan military. A five-year study by the United Nations from 2021 showed that 785 children were killed by US and AAF air attacks during this period.

risks for former pilots

Due to their high visibility in the local community, many pilots feared revenge actions after the change of power through the Taliban. Khan reported that during his time in the Air Force "eight to ten" of his colleagues were killed by the Taliban during "targeted explosions and shootings". Shawn Vandiver, the founder of #Afghanevac, a leading US coalition of resettlement and veteran groups, commented: "These pilots have risked everything.

one of Khan's friends, the 37-year-old Khapalwaka, is also very afraid. As a trained aviation engineer, he was part of the Afghan Air Force Education program and had to vacate civilian areas before they were targeted by US drone attacks. "Soon I became a goal of the local Taliban faction," said Khapalwaka and reported that for security reasons he had to move "every three to four months" beforehand.

fear of returning to Afghanistan

Now Khapalwaka sells wood on the side of the road to feed his family. Like Khan, he also speaks under a pseudonym and is concerned that the Taliban could also reach him in Pakistan. "I know that you have contacts here that you could target me here if you wanted ... I just want to get away here so that my daughters get a chance of education."

The Taliban deny that former pilots are exposed to risks if they return. "We have no problem with you," said spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid. "The pilots who want to return to Afghanistan are important for the country and are treated with respect."

life in the uncertain

Khan sits in a small room of his modest apartment in an inconspicuous building in Islamabad. Bed overstreams serve as preliminary curtains, and just as much sunlight penetrates that the faces of his little children, who sleep together on the floor in worn blankets, are pale. The youngest child constantly jumped on Khans while he spoke of the life he left behind.

in the chaotic period after the US deduction, Khan came to Pakistan in March 2022. He came legally and on foot after a US pilot who had been one of his trainers had advised him to do this. Khan followed the steps of the US program for the admission of refugees (USRAP) and after two years of waiting was finally an interview in the US message in April last year to strive for a resettlement to the USA.

The urgency of the situation

Since then, Khan has been "silent". The past two months indicate that the policy of the White House under President Donald Trump has become less predictable and more anti-migrant, which questions the perspectives for Afghans like Khan. The signs are on storm for tens of thousands of Afghans, which are already caught in the uncertain due to other executive measures under Trump.

The deadline that Pakistan has set for the return of Afghan citizens ends on March 31, the Muslim festival Eid al-Fitr, which concludes the Holy month of Ramadan. Jawad Ahmed, a former Black Hawk helicopter pilot of the Afghan Air Force, feels as if "merging every day".

The fear of returning

The return to Afghanistan could be worse, according to Ahmed. "Only death, difficulties and horrors await us there," he says. His family in Afghanistan has accepted new names and identities to protect himself and leads a life in a new province.

"Nobody knows where they are, nobody knows that they had a son, a brother; in their new world it seems like I have never existed." He asks to pass on his message to President Trump and the US government: "We had no options in Pakistan, what can we do, please, for God's sake, bring us out here. We have no life here; we suffocate with fear."

An active US air pilot who wants to remain anonymous has offered support for former Afghan pilots with which they worked: "When the country collapsed, I was showered with calls for help. How many other relatives of the armed forces have tried to cope with the problem." While active soldiers had some successes to bring families to the United States, they continue to be “afraid” about their Afghan colleagues who are stuck in Pakistan and other countries.

The departure of former partners sends a "frosty message to future US allies-be it in Ukraine, Taiwan or elsewhere-that working with the USA means a death sentence at the end of the war."

With the approach of the festival EID, Thaueded Khan and his group of 27 Afghan pilots and engineers who are stuck in Islamabad dream of eating meat to break their fasting, access to education for their children, new clothes and a better home. "We are afraid that we will be torn out," says Khan. "We are under enormous pressure, we don't know what will happen."