The United States wants Pakistan to keep their borders open for potential Afghan refugees as the struggle for power intensified between Afghan forces and Taliban before the final withdrawal of the US forces.

In a press briefing by the US State Department spokesperson on Wednesday, he said: “It is important for countries to keep their borders open to potential refugee flows.”

When a reporter asked about the discussions which were supposed to take place with Pakistan, Turkey and the neighbouring countries over the issue of Afghan refugees, the spokesperson said that he was not going to speak to “specific countries”.

The Pakistani officials had stated that they were not in a position to host further refugees as there was a threat to terrorism in the country. Moreover, economically the country was not in a position to cater them.

Currently more than three million Afghan refugees are living in the country since the Soviet invasion of 1979 and subsequent waves of violence and later a civil war, according to the United Nations.

Meanwhile, Turkey rejected the US decision, saying it would cause a great migration crisis in the region and increase the suffering of Afghan people on migration routes, reported Anadolu Agency.

Besides, Canadian Minister for Refugees Marco Mendicino in a message on Twitter welcomed the first flight carrying Afghan refugees, saying they had provided crucial support to the Canadian mission in Afghanistan.