Saskatoon Afghan community calls on Ottawa to speed up immigration for stranded families

Zahedi family has been waiting in Pakistan for over a year to join Setara in Saskatoon. (Submitted)

Dozens of advocates and Afghan community members gathered outside Saskatoon City Hall on Saturday to call on the federal government to fast-track immigration for Afghan applicants stranded in Pakistan.

They say hundreds of their family members approved for resettlement in Canada remain trapped under what they call “dangerous and inhuman” conditions.

Setara Zahedi says her mother, two sisters and two brothers have been stuck in Pakistan for about a year, even though their immigration applications were approved.

“They are in a very difficult situation,” she said. “Pakistani police are arresting undocumented Afghan refugees, and my family is among them. They don’t have legal documents for Pakistan and local authorities refuse to recognize the Canadian papers they have.”

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Zahedi urges Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to act quickly.

“I’m under a lot of mental stress and fear something will happen to them,” she said. “My siblings are very young, and I worry they will be arrested and sent back to Afghanistan, where they have no one and no support.”

After clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan escalated in late 2024 and intensified through 2025, Pakistani authorities began mass deportation of Afghans. So far, one million of the three million Afghans living in Pakistan have been expelled this year.

In an open letter to Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the Afghan community said many of their family members are hiding and unable to work or buy food.

“We fear every day for the safety of our families,” the letter read. “They believed Canada would be their path to protection, and many have already been accepted into Canadian programs, but they are instead trapped in an escalating crisis.”

Mark Bigland-Pritchard of Mennonite Central Committee Saskatchewan, a Sponsorship Agreement Holder, says Afghan refugees have become a major focus, particularly those in Pakistan, due to rising deportation risks.

According to Bigland-Pritchard, in 2024, 15 per cent of applications were for Afghans in Pakistan; however, in 2025, that rose to 59 per cent, and it is likely to be at least a similarly high percentage in 2026.

Despite efforts, only two families have arrived in Canada, and processing times remain too long, leaving applicants vulnerable to detention, deportation, eviction, and lack of visas.

“While processing times for Afghans in Pakistan are shorter than for other refugees, they are still too long – the risk to the people we are trying to bring is great and steadily increasing,” Bigland-Pritchard said.

“We have had people detained for deportation (but fortunately able to get free). We have had one person deported, but they somehow managed to find a way to return to Pakistan.”

Bigland-Pritchard says recent federal government announcements indicate a severe cut in the program, at least for 2026.

“We have some hard work to do in re-building a Canadian consensus of welcome and mutual support, and we will be doing that in conjunction with multiple other groups nationwide, in an initiative launched recently by the Canadian Council for Refugees,” said Bigland-Pritchard.

In an email to CTV, IRCC said Canada is concerned with the deportation of Afghan refugees and the situation they may face upon return to Afghanistan, and continues to engage with partners in the region.

“Although intake for these special programs is now closed, IRCC continues to prioritize processing of eligible applications already received. With the support of partners in the region, the Government of Canada is working to help Afghan applicants who have travelled to third countries, where we are able to complete biometrics, security and medical screening, and finalize their applications. Canada is working to bring Afghans approved for resettlement to Canada from Pakistan as quickly as possible,” IRCC said in the email.

Canada has welcomed over 60,000 Afghans since the Taliban regained power in August 2021.

Last month, Minister Diab announced that the pause on new applications under the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program will continue until 2027 while the ministry works through its backlog.

The pause affects sponsorships submitted by community organizations or groups of five or more people.

According to Canada’s immigration plan, the government aims to resettle 16,000 privately sponsored refugees each year for the next three years.