Thousands of Afghans who stood up to the Taliban or have ties to the U.S. are stuck in limbo thanks to President Donald Trump's executive order suspending the relocation of refugees to the United States — including some who already had their security clearances approved and their flights booked.

The Taliban won’t return any of the military equipment left behind by the US troops while exiting Afghanistan in 2021, a person familiar with the matter said, as relations between Kabul and the Donald Trump administration start on a wobbly note.

In the very last hours of President Joe Biden’s time in office, a prisoner exchange years in the making was finally struck: the Taliban agreed to swap two Americans being held in Afghanistan for one Taliban member serving a life sentence in a US prison.

A prisoner swap between the United States and Afghanistan’s Taliban freed two Americans in exchange for a Taliban figure imprisoned for life in California on drug trafficking and terrorism

The president has suspended U.S. refugee programs, mirroring his policy towards Middle Eastern immigrants from his first term.

Afghans who fled Taliban rule are pleading with US President Donald Trump to reverse refugee programme suspension, saying it puts them in danger.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The head of a major humanitarian organisation said U.S. President Donald Trump's order to halt foreign aid for 90 days would have immediate and disastrous consequences in Afghanistan where relief operations are already stretched thin.

Afghans who fled after the Taliban seized power have appealed to US President Donald Trump to exempt them from an order suspending the relocation of refugees to the US. An estimated 15,000 Afghans are waiting in Pakistan to be approved for resettlement in the US via an American government programme.

Nearly 1,660 Afghans cleared by the U.S. government to resettle in the U.S., including family members of active-duty U.S. military personnel, are having their flights canceled under President Donald Trump's order suspending U.

The situation in Afghanistan is growing dire. The aversion of Americans to working with the Taliban is holding back opportunities for economic development and advancing women’s rights. Meanwhile, Russia and China are actively vying for influence in the country.

"The terrorists get a vote, and they're voting to keep fighting," former Trump counterterrorism envoy Nathan Sales told Newsweek.