Migration & court file

US Deportations via Pakistan

Washington has no diplomatic relations with Afghanistan or a functioning one with Iran, so it has used Pakistan as the transfer point for detainees it cannot send home directly. That arrangement has produced two flights the administration tried to run in November 2026, a federal judge’s notice order in Washington and a second judge’s block in New York, and a refusal by Islamabad that turned the first Iranian aircraft back to Arizona. This hub follows the operation, the litigation and the diplomatic position from the filing of charges through each flight attempt.

3 reportsLatest 11 November 2026
The Embassy of Pakistan in Washington DC: a pale stone office building with a curved entrance portico behind a black iron fence, framed by trees and a green lamppost on a wide pavement.

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11 November 2026
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US deportation flight turns back after Pakistan declines to accept Iranian detainees

A US deportation flight carrying Iranian detainees bound for Iran turned around midair and landed back in Arizona after Pakistan declined to accept the group.

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The granite facade and entrance canopy of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in lower Manhattan, with bollards lining the pavement in front.International — Region / International — Region

US judge blocks deportation of Afghans to Pakistan and Afghanistan

A New York federal judge has temporarily barred the US from deporting more than 150 Afghans to Afghanistan or Pakistan, days before flights were due to leave Louisiana.

A wide view over the Torkham border area in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: bare rocky ridges flank a valley, a long line of freight trucks stands on the road that descends towards the border settlement, and haze sits under a pale sky.International — Region / International — Region

US plans to deport more than 150 Afghans through Pakistan, court filings show

Federal court filings show the US preparing to fly more than 150 Afghan detainees from Louisiana to Pakistan, with onward transport to Afghanistan planned as early as next week.