“I received a very positive response last October from those helping the CIMMYT employees, and in the absence of any further information to the contrary, I’m assuming all this is still on track,” Evans told Crikey. “So I’m very satisfied with Penny Wong’s response.”
The cables illustrate the general plight of Afghan refugees — those who did not have an international agency or former Australian foreign minister in their corner — and show that throughout October Australia had been lobbying, unsuccessfully, for an extension on the November 1 expulsion date, as well as for the removal of the US$830 (A$1,261) fee that Pakistan had imposed on exit permit applications.