More than 100,000 Afghan nationals are seeking humanitarian visas from Australia, officials have revealed, with demand far outstripping the 3,000 places the federal government initially allocated when Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, The Guardian reported.
It further reported that officials have also revealed nearly 300 Australian citizens or permanent residents remain in Afghanistan, with an unspecified number of those seeking help from the government to leave the country.
On Monday, humanitarian advocates told a Senate inquiry Afghans were living in “fear and uncertainty”. In recent days, a witness told the hearing, the Taliban had attacked a former security guard who had helped Australia and been left behind in the August evacuation mission.
