About 20,000 Afghans were approved for resettlement in the U.S. under a program that helps people at risk because of their work with the American government, media, aid agencies and rights groups. They were among tens of thousands of Afghans who fled to neighboring Pakistan after their country fell to the Taliban in 2021.

Officials say Pakistan has threatened to deport Afghan refugees awaiting relocation to a third country unless their cases are swiftly processed by the host governments.

The United Nations agencies focused on refugees and migration jointly voiced their concerns Wednesday over Pakistan's plans to begin a new round of mass deportations of Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers.