US secretary of state Marco Rubio (AP photo)
United States secretary of state Marco Rubio on Saturday said the Trump administration has paused visa issuance for all individuals travelling on Afghan passports, asserting that Washington has “no higher priority than protecting” the Americans. “President Trump’s State Department has paused visa issuance for ALL individuals traveling on Afghan passports. The United States has no higher priority than protecting our nation and our people,” Rubio posted on X.
Earlier, citing national security and public safety, the US department of state said that it had “immediately paused visa issuance for individuals traveling on Afghan passports”.“The Department of State has IMMEDIATELY paused visa issuance for individuals traveling on Afghan passports. The Department is taking all necessary steps to protect U.S. national security and public safety,” the department posted.This comes days after the United States announced an indefinite halt to all immigration requests involving Afghan nationals, following a shooting incident near the White House in Washington, DC, in which the suspect was identified as an Afghan national.Also Read |‘All immigration requests …’: US takes major step after Afghan national named shooter; entry traced to 2021The US citizenship and immigration services (USCIS) confirmed the decision on X, saying: “Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols.”It added, “The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and mission.”According to law enforcement sources cited by CBS News, the suspect is 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who entered the United States in 2021. Authorities are still verifying his background, and the motive behind the attack remains unclear.The shooting left two West Virginia National Guard members critically injured after they were attacked Wednesday afternoon just blocks from the White House. They had been deployed to the capital, and the mayor described the incident as a targeted act of violence. FBI director Kash Patel and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said the soldiers were hospitalised in critical condition.US president Donald Trump said on Thursday that Sarah Beckstrom, one of the two National Guard soldiers shot near the White House a day earlier, had died of her injuries. The second soldier, he said, was “fighting for his life”.
