US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan was a disaster for American credibility and demanded a thorough, candid review. He said the US was humiliated in Kabul five years ago as its adversaries watched.
Speaking on Monday, 9 November, Hegseth described the chaotic withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan as one of the previous administration's major failures and criticised the performance of Lloyd Austin, who served as Defence Secretary under former President Joe Biden.
The Trump administration's Secretary of War also criticised Congress for its handling of Austin's performance, saying that despite the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, no impeachment vote had been held against the then-Defence Secretary.
As part of a broader assessment of America's military educational institutions, Hegseth said the country's war colleges had avoided thoroughly examining recent strategic failures, including the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
US forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021 during the presidency of Joe Biden.
According to Hegseth, some instructors at these institutions consider such subjects sensitive or politically controversial, an approach he argued was incompatible with serious military strategy education.
Referring to the deadly attack at Abbey Gate at Kabul airport during the US withdrawal, Hegseth said 13 American service members had been killed as a result of operational, strategic and political failures.
He described the chaotic collapse of the US presence in Afghanistan as a complete disaster for American credibility and said the country's war colleges owed those who served during the 20-year war in Afghanistan a frank and candid assessment of America's performance.
Hegseth also questioned why senior US officials had failed to anticipate the collapse of the Afghan government and why the country's operational plans had fallen apart within days.
As American and international forces withdrew from Afghanistan, the Afghan government collapsed and the Taliban returned to power.
Donald Trump has also repeatedly criticised the way US forces withdrew from Afghanistan.
Afghanistan International has learned from an eyewitness and relatives of two victims that the number of Afghan migrants who died at the Iran-Türkiye border may exceed the eight whose bodies were discovered in recent days.
Munir Khan Safi told Afghanistan International that his brother, Hamed Safi, died on Thursday night in the border area between Iran and Türkiye. According to him, Hamed's death was separate from those of the eight migrants whose bodies had previously been discovered and are currently being held in Van, Türkiye.
Afghanistan International has examined documents showing that Hamed, the son of Abdul Qayum, was approximately 22 years old and originally from Imam Sahib district in Kunduz province.
Hamed's family said his body is currently being held in a government mortuary in the Chaldoran border area on the Iranian side. Afghanistan International has also seen a photograph of Hamed's body.
The outlet has also examined other photographs which, according to the young man's family, show him in the Chaldoran area before he set off towards the Turkish border.
Junaid, 20, accused Turkish border police and human smugglers of mistreating and abusing migrants in an interview with Afghanistan International.
He said he and Hamed crossed the Turkish border wall in the Chaldoran area on Thursday night but were caught by border forces after entering Turkish territory.
According to Junaid, border guards mistreated and beat them. He alleged that officers forced the migrants to stand barefoot in the snow in freezing conditions and poured cold water over their naked bodies.
Turkish border police were also accused of stripping the migrants of all their clothing before forcing them back over the border wall towards Iran.
Junaid said he and Hamed lost consciousness after walking for hours in the cold. When he regained consciousness, he realised he had been moved to a room and that Hamed had died.
Afghanistan International has been unable to independently verify the exact cause of Hamed's death.
According to meteorological data, temperatures in the Chaldoran area dropped to around zero degrees Celsius on Thursday night and Friday last week. Daytime temperatures ranged between approximately 5°C and 10°C.
Hamed's family believes that exploitation and extortion by smugglers, what they describe as torture and violence by Turkish border forces, the forced return of migrants and extreme cold contributed to his death.
The cause of Hamed's death has not yet been independently confirmed.
The accounts provided by Junaid and Hamed's family represent one of the cases Afghanistan International has investigated concerning conditions faced by migrants along the Iran-Türkiye border. Other migrants may have had different experiences, and the causes of their deaths may also differ.
In recent days, several Afghan asylum seekers have sent videos to Afghanistan International complaining of violence in Turkish border areas.
They have reported extortion and mistreatment by human smugglers and border forces, as well as extreme cold along migration routes.
Bodies of Eight Afghan Migrants Discovered
In one incident, a video showing the bodies of eight young Afghan men in the border area between Türkiye and Iran was circulated, prompting widespread reactions.
Sharif Nazari, the brother of one of the victims, told Afghanistan International on Tuesday, 10 November, that he had identified his brother, Reza Nazari, among the eight men.
According to him, Reza is the last person visible in the video showing the bodies and was probably the youngest victim of the incident.
Afghanistan International has examined documents showing that Reza Nazari, the son of Ali Chaman Nazari and a native of Bamyan province, was born on 24 September 2009.
Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, anyone under the age of 18 is considered a child.
Sharif Nazari called on Turkish, Iranian and Taliban authorities to cooperate in transferring Reza's body to Kabul so his family could bury him.
According to Sharif Nazari, the victims' bodies are being held in the Turkish city of Van, and their families have not yet been given access to them.
On Sunday, 8 November, informed sources sent Afghanistan International a video showing the bodies of eight Afghan migrants.
The footage shows the bodies of eight young men whose chins appear to have been tied with strips of material.
The person recording the video can be heard speaking with an Afghan Persian accent, identifying the deceased as travellers.
The Afghan Refugees Association in Türkiye also confirmed the deaths of the eight migrants in an interview with Afghanistan International.
The association said Afghans living in Van had not yet been permitted to visit the hospital to identify or view the bodies.
Turkish media reported that the bodies of eight young men were discovered near the Yukarı Tulgalı area of Özalp district in Van province, approximately three kilometres from the Iranian border.
The reports did not identify the victims and attributed their deaths to extreme cold.
However, the cause of death of the eight migrants has not been independently verified.
Calls for Investigation Into Migrant Deaths
Özkan Öztaş, a Turkish journalist, told Afghanistan International on Monday that the local administration in Van had ordered information relating to the case to remain confidential.
The incident has prompted reactions from several Turkish opposition politicians.
Gülcan Kaçmaz Sayyiğit, a member of the Turkish parliament representing the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), wrote to the country's Interior Minister on Monday, calling for a judicial investigation, the identification of the victims and the arrest of any potential suspects.
In her letter, she referred to similar incidents involving migrant deaths in Turkish border areas.
According to Sayyiğit, the bodies of 19 Afghan migrants were discovered in May 2002 after snow melted in the Chaldoran area of Van province.
She also referred to the deaths of several migrants in the Başkale area and along migration routes in 2019.
Highlighting the impact of regional conflicts and economic crises on migration, the lawmaker called for stronger measures to protect migrants' rights in border regions.
She also requested information from Turkiye's Interior Ministry about the number of migrants held in removal centres in Van province, deportation figures over the past five years and the number of people who had entered the province from Iran since 2020.
Sayyiğit further questioned the ministry about government action against human-smuggling networks, the number of people arrested in connection with such networks over the past five years and measures to prevent violations of migrants' rights in removal centres.
Seracettin Bedirhanoğlu, head of the Republican People's Party (CHP) branch in Van, also attributed the incident to failures in migration management, shortcomings in border monitoring and disregard for human life.
He called for a comprehensive investigation into the incident and the identification of anyone potentially responsible.
Türkiye is one of the main migration routes used by Afghans travelling towards Greece and other European countries.
The country also hosts many Afghan migrants, some of whom live and work there without valid residence documents.
Democratic Representatives Jason Crow and Sam Liccardo announced on Monday that they would seek a House vote on legislation to prevent the deportation of Afghan refugees. Several Republican lawmakers have also backed the proposal.
The two lawmakers aim to collect 218 signatures to bring the bill to a vote without the approval of Republican leaders.
If passed and signed into law, the legislation would restore Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible Afghans, allowing them to remain in the United States until July 2029.
The Trump administration revoked TPS for Afghan refugees who were evacuated to the United States following the fall of Kabul and has taken steps to deport them. However, several federal courts have blocked the deportation of Afghan refugees to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Crow and Liccardo need the support of all current Democratic representatives and several Republicans to secure the required signatures. If at least 218 lawmakers sign their petition, they can force Republican House leaders to hold a vote.
The two representatives had taken an initial procedural step on 1 October, allowing them to begin collecting signatures immediately after submitting the new petition.
Their bill, introduced this summer, requires a majority vote in the House of Representatives to pass.
Jason Crow, a US military veteran who served in Afghanistan, said Afghans who worked alongside American forces had risked their lives to protect US service members.
He said he was working to bring legislation protecting Afghans living in the US to a vote because he would not allow his country to abandon those brave Afghans.
Sam Liccardo also said thousands of Afghans had risked their lives alongside US forces because the US had promised not to leave them behind.
He warned that they now faced the risk of being returned to Taliban rule.
Liccardo stressed that action on the issue should not be delayed until Democrats regain a majority in the House of Representatives.
So far, four Republican lawmakers have supported the legislation: Don Bacon of Nebraska, Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida, Joe Wilson of South Carolina and Morgan Luttrell of Texas.
Kevin Kiley, a representative from California who was previously a Republican and now serves as an independent, has also backed the proposal.
More than 50 organisations, including Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Amnesty International USA, have expressed support for the legislation.
The US Congress established the TPS programme in 1990 to allow migrants who cannot safely return to their home countries because of war or crises to remain and work in the United States for a designated period. This protection can be extended.
The Biden administration extended these protections to Afghans in 2022, but the Trump administration announced in May 2025 that it would terminate them.
Kristi Noem, who was serving as US Secretary of Homeland Security at the time, said the programme had been created to provide temporary protection to migrants and should remain temporary.
She claimed that security conditions in Afghanistan had improved, its economy had stabilised and Afghan nationals could return to their country.
French member of European Parliament Mounir Satouri said negotiations with the Taliban over the return of Afghan migrants contradict Europe's democratic principles and fundamental values.
He argued that the talks also conflict with the EU's official policy of not recognising the Taliban.
In an article published on the Europe Écologie website, Satouri wrote that no change to this position had been discussed by the EU Foreign Affairs Council or approved by the European Parliament.
He added that, in exchange for cooperation on migrant returns, the Taliban had demanded permission to station their representatives in European embassies and the resumption of economic assistance.
The French MEP stressed that intense anti-immigration sentiment was no longer confined to right-wing and far-right governments but had also spread to other administrations.
Satouri cited the Social Democratic government of Mette Frederiksen in Denmark and the coalition government of Friedrich Merz in Germany, which includes the Social Democrats, as examples.
He argued that this trend had led these governments, and subsequently the European Commission, to undermine fundamental principles that had long been central to the development of a democratic Europe.
Satouri wrote that if European governments were willing to negotiate with the Taliban to return Afghan migrants despite the group's widespread human rights violations, they might apply the same logic to other countries in the future.
He argued that the same approach could eventually lead European governments to negotiate with Vladimir Putin or Iran's leadership over the return of Russian and Iranian nationals, a prospect he described as deeply contradictory.
Satouri said that, for this reason, he had asked Johannes Luchner, Deputy Director-General responsible for migration at the European Commission and organiser of the Brussels meeting, to explain the negotiations during a 5 November session of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights.
He said Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur about human rights in Afghanistan, a representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and Amnesty International's South Asia specialist also attended the session.
According to Satouri, the other participants could do little more than acknowledge the catastrophic human rights situation in Afghanistan, particularly the conditions facing women, five years after the Taliban returned to power.
Referring to the human rights situation in Afghanistan, he said the Taliban had promised in 2021 to respect the right of women and girls to education but had failed to fulfil that commitment.
The French MEP also highlighted the forced return of six million Afghan migrants from Iran and Pakistan since 2023, arguing that returning Afghan asylum seekers from Europe to a country facing a human rights crisis and severe restrictions on women was irresponsible and inhumane.
Satouri described engagement with the Taliban as contradictory and incompatible with Europe's democratic and human rights values.
He stressed that the European Parliament must stand against what he described as European governments' and the European Commission's departure from the EU's democratic principles.
Abdul Salam Hanafi, the Taliban's Deputy Prime Minister, discussed the challenges facing Afghan returnees and efforts to support them with Rabab Fatima, head of UNAMA and the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan.
In a statement issued on Monday, 9 November, the Taliban's Presidential Palace said Fatima had described managing the challenges facing returnees in Afghanistan as a major concern.
According to the statement, Abdul Salam Hanafi said the Taliban were making efforts to address the problems facing more than eight million people who had returned to Afghanistan and were committed to full cooperation in this regard.
He added that relevant organisations should also work together to protect the rights of returnees, create employment opportunities and provide them with shelter.
According to the Taliban, Rabab Fatima expressed hope that efforts to promote Afghanistan's economic development and reconstruction would continue.
UNAMA has not yet commented on the meeting or issued a statement about it. The Taliban have also not released any photographs or videos of the meeting.
Previously, Mawlawi Kabir, the Taliban's Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, had also discussed humanitarian assistance for Afghan returnees with Rabab Fatima.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), approximately 6.5 million Afghans returned to the country from Iran and Pakistan between mid-September 2023 and 31 August 2026. The figure includes both voluntary returnees and those deported from the two countries.
On 30 October 2026, the IOM announced that more than 1.3 million Afghans had returned from Iran and Pakistan during the current calendar year alone.
According to the organisation's figures, more than 6.6 million returns from the two countries have been recorded since September 2023.
The IOM said approximately 2.9 million Afghans returned to the country in 2025 alone.
The large-scale return of Afghans, particularly the deportation of migrants from Iran and Pakistan, has placed considerable pressure on Afghanistan's resources, public services, labour market and shelter facilities.
The first Shanghai Plus security experts' meeting was held in Samarkand, bringing together more than 180 representatives from 24 countries and international organisations. Participants warned of terrorist groups misusing AI and digital platforms.
Participants emphasised the need to develop joint strategies to counter security threats in the digital age.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in a message to the meeting's participants, stressed the importance of information security, protecting critical infrastructure and strengthening countries' resilience against emerging forms of threats.
According to Mirziyoyev, while digital technologies have created new opportunities for development, they have also introduced new vulnerabilities that require a coordinated regional response.
During the meeting, held on Friday, 6 November, representatives of participating countries shared their national experiences in countering terrorist activities and examined measures to prevent the spread of extremism online.
Discussions focused on how terrorist groups use artificial intelligence, digital platforms and other technological tools for propaganda, recruitment and the coordination of illegal activities.
At the meeting, heads of delegations issued a joint statement agreeing to conduct research into the changing nature of terrorist threats driven by emerging technologies, exchange experiences in preventive measures and organise specialised training programmes.
The Taliban's intelligence chief, who attended the meeting, called on technology companies, including Telegram and TikTok, to cooperate with the Taliban administration in combating ISIS.
Abdul Haq Wasiq claimed that Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) uses these companies' platforms for communication, financing and ideological propaganda.
On the same day, another meeting between Central Asian leaders and the King of Jordan was held in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.
The meeting, which marked the first Aqaba Process gathering in Central Asia, focused on ensuring security in the field of artificial intelligence, preventing its use for terrorist and extremist purposes, and strengthening regional and international cooperation against threats posed by emerging technologies.