Taliban Hunt Former Afghan Forces.

Three years have passed since the chaotic American withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the Taliban's grip on the country tightens with each passing day. They are still actively hunting down former Afghan soldiers and police officers, many of whom were trained by U.S. and NATO forces. These men, once symbols of hope and stability, are now forced to live in fear, constantly looking over their shoulders, their lives hanging in the balance.

The Taliban consider these men "a force for America," "traitors, trained by NATO," and "nonbelievers." They face a constant threat, their past affiliations with the West a mark of condemnation. Many have fled their homes and villages, seeking refuge in neighboring countries like Iran. But even in exile, they are not safe.

Mohammad, a former police officer, is one such individual. He fled Kabul after the Taliban's takeover, only to find himself in a precarious situation in Iran. Unable to secure legal status or work, he was faced with a harrowing choice: join the Fatemiyoun Brigade, an Iran-backed militia group, or risk deportation back to the Taliban. Desperate for a safe haven, he slipped back into Afghanistan, where he has been living in hiding for the past year.

The Taliban's reach is far-reaching, and their tactics are brutal. They use intimidation, bribery, and intelligence gathered from captured documents to locate and target former Afghan soldiers and police officers. Hayatullah, a former Afghan National Army soldier, witnessed firsthand the fear and despair that gripped his comrades as the Taliban took control. He pleaded with his commanders to fight back, but they were powerless to stop the inevitable. The Taliban, with promises of leniency, disarmed the soldiers and sent them home. But the danger wasn't over.

Hayatullah, like many others, is living a life of fear and uncertainty. He cannot work openly, cannot identify himself, and relies on the generosity of his family for survival. He, along with countless others, sees resettlement as their only hope for a future free from fear. The United States has welcomed over 165,000 Afghans since the withdrawal, but a backlog of cases and bureaucratic hurdles make the process of obtaining a refugee visa long and arduous. The Afghan Adjustment Act, a bipartisan bill introduced in Congress, aims to address these roadblocks and provide a pathway to citizenship for those who have already found sanctuary in the United States. However, the bill has been stalled for over a year, leaving the fate of thousands of Afghan war allies hanging in the balance.