Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the announcement by Pakistan's Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti on 3 October 2023 that Afghan asylum seekers must leave the country by the end of November 2023, if she will make it her policy to issue UK visas before that date to all Afghan citizens in Pakistan who are eligible to come to the UK and who are waiting for a decision from her Department under (a) the Afghan Citizen's Resettlement Scheme and (b) family reunion rules; and if she will make a statement.

Supporting the resettlement of individuals eligible under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) remains a priority for HMG, and we are issuing new visas to people from Afghanistan for settlement here.

We recognise the difficult situation that many individuals find themselves in. We continue to work, including with likeminded partners and countries neighbouring Afghanistan on resettlement issues and to support safe passages for eligible Afghans.

To date we have brought around 24,600 people affected by events in Afghanistan to safety. This includes those evacuated under Operation Pitting and those resettled and relocated under the ACRS and Afghans Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). The ACRS is one of the most ambitious resettlement schemes in our countries history and provides those affected by events in Afghanistan with a safe and legal route to the UK.