The Donald Trump administration’s plan to use Pakistan as a transit hub for deporting Iranian and Afghan immigrants has sparked outrage over fears of persecution of those potentially deported. Two flights carrying Iranians were aborted, and one plane’s departure from the US was blocked by a court.

The Donald Trump administration’s plans to use Pakistan as a transit hub for deporting Iranian and Afghan immigrants have sparked alarm, with rights groups saying that the move puts the vulnerable asylum seekers back into persecution. American court filings have revealed plans to route deportation flights through Islamabad, while lawyers say some Iranian detainees were even issued Pakistani transit visas.

The controversy deepened after two attempts to deport Iranians were aborted, including a flight on Tuesday (November 10) that reportedly had to turn back after Pakistan refused to receive the passengers. While Pakistan has acknowledged “discussions with Washington over a proposal” to use its territory as a transit point, it said no agreement was finalised.

Irrespective, the reports have drawn criticism from US lawmakers, immigration lawyers, and Afghan advocates, who fear Pakistan could become a backdoor for sending people to Iran and Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

“Pakistan must not become a back door to persecution under Taliban rule,” warned former Afghan diplomat Ashraf Haidari, founder of Displaced International. Meanwhile, American journalist Roger Parloff said Pakistan had “got cold feet” after the Iranian deportation flight turned back on Tuesday, even as Islamabad has not publicly explained the reported refusal.

US lawmakers have warned that Pakistani officials could face sanctions if they knowingly facilitate deportations that expose vulnerable Afghans to torture, persecution or death under Taliban rule.

The controversy comes amid US President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation drive, which has increasingly relied on third countries to facilitate removals. Washington has no formal diplomatic relations with either Iran or Afghanistan’s Taliban government, making direct deportations difficult, according to the New York Times. Pakistan, which borders both countries and hosts Iran’s Interests Section at its embassy in Washington, has emerged as a proposed intermediary.

US FLIGHT TURNS BACK AFTER PAKISTAN REPORTEDLY REFUSES DEPORTEES

The latest controversy was triggered by an ICE deportation flight carrying Iranian nationals that took off from Mesa, Arizona, early on Tuesday, only to turn back and land at the same airport about 30 minutes later.

According to the New York Times, Pakistan abruptly declined to receive the deportees, forcing the aircraft to turn around.

The newspaper attributed the claim to an anonymous US official and a detainee’s relative, who said an Iranian official had informed him of Pakistan’s refusal.

At least nine Iranian detainees were returned to an immigration facility in Arizona. The aircraft, a small private charter jet, had a capacity of 17 passengers, according to flight-monitoring organisation Human Rights First.

Neither Pakistan nor the US has publicly provided a detailed explanation for Tuesday’s turnaround.

On November 8, at least eight Iranians had boarded another aircraft in Arizona for deportation through Georgia and Pakistan. That flight was cancelled without explanation, the Associated Press reported.

It was the second aborted attempt to deport Iranian immigrants via Pakistan within three days and the third setback this month, following a court intervention that halted a planned deportation of Afghan nationals on November 3.

The first major setback came on November 3, when the Trump administration’s plan to deport around 150 to 200 Afghan nationals through Pakistan was halted by a court. According to CBS News, the deportees were to be flown from the US to Pakistan before being transferred to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The proposed operation drew criticism because some detainees included former US military allies and people who feared persecution under the Taliban.

HOW PAKISTAN BECAME PART OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION PLANS

The groundwork for using Pakistan as a transit point for US deportations had been laid weeks before the flights were aborted. On October 31, the Associated Press reported that US court documents showed plans to fly detained Afghan nationals from Louisiana to Pakistan before transferring them to Afghanistan.

On November 2, CBS News reported that nearly 200 Afghans could be deported using this route, citing an American official.

In the meantime, the arrangement to send back Iranians was also progressing.

According to a November 8 Anadolu Agency report, an emergency US court filing said 11 Iranians, including 10 men and a woman, were scheduled for transfer through Islamabad.

The Iranian American Legal Defense Fund said detainees had reportedly received 15-day Pakistani transit visas. An Iranian official had also visited detainees in Arizona and shown them a passenger manifest, according to the filing, reported Anadolu Agency.

Pakistan, however, has acknowledged only the discussions concerning Afghan deportees.

On November 6, Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said Islamabad was considering the American proposal. “The matter is currently under consideration, and all relevant aspects are being carefully examined in consultation with the stakeholders concerned,” he said, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported.

BACK DOOR TO PERSECUTION: UPROAR OVER SECRET DETENTIONS IN PAKISTAN

The deportation plans of the US involving Pakistan have triggered strong criticism from lawmakers and rights advocates who fear vulnerable migrants could be handed over to the very authorities they fled.

In a November 4 statement, Displaced International founder Ashraf Haidari said Pakistan must not become an indirect route to persecution under Taliban rule. “The [US] Administration should halt these removals, and Congress should turn this reprieve into lasting protection,” he said.

US Senator Jeanne Shaheen also condemned the plan in a statement shared by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democrats on October 31.

“It is reprehensible that the Trump Administration plans to deport hundreds of Afghans,” she said on X, warning that women, children and former American military allies could be returned to Taliban custody.

Immigration policy expert Aaron Reichlin-Melnick warned on November 7 that a temporary judicial reprieve had not ended ICE’s plans. “This was only a temporary reprieve, but ICE is still saying it wants to deport these people to Afghanistan via Pakistan,” he wrote on X.

He highlighted the case of a gay Afghan man married to a US citizen who had lived in America since childhood.

The concerns are especially serious because some proposed deportees include former US military associates, political dissidents, religious minorities and LGBTQ individuals.

US LAWMAKERS WARN PAKISTAN OF POSSIBLE SANCTIONS

The criticism over the secretive multi-stakeholder move has also come from the US Congress.

On November 2, Representative Scott Peters led a group of 66 members of the US Congress in demanding that the Trump administration cancel the proposed Iranian and Afghan deportations.

The lawmakers warned that vulnerable people could face persecution, torture or death if returned.

In a published version of the congressional letter, the lawmakers specifically raised alarm over Pakistan’s role in the potential transfers.

They urged Washington to warn Islamabad against assisting transfers to the Taliban and cited the possibility of sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.

The proposed Afghan flights also faced judicial intervention. On November 3, US District Judge Valerie Caproni temporarily barred the deportation of Afghans to Pakistan or Afghanistan until November 7.

According to the Associated Press, the order followed warnings from lawmakers and rights groups about the dangers deportees could face.

While Pakistan has not acknowledged accepting the US plan, several questions remain unanswered. Did it approve transit visas for Iranian detainees? Did it agree to receive the November 10 flight? And why did it reportedly back out?

Court filings, reported transit visas and aborted flights suggest that Pakistan is a key transit point in Washington’s deportation plans. Whether Islamabad accepts that role or not, Trump’s attempt to route deportations through Pakistan has already sparked controversy and serious human rights concerns.