Taliban’s High Commission for Refugees and Returnees Affairs has announced that Pakistan deported 4,037 Afghan migrants in a single day. The move came two days after the expiration of a deadline set by Pakistan’s Interior Ministry for Afghan nationals without valid legal documentation to leave the country.
Under the deadline, which expired on Friday, July 10 (19 Saratan), all Afghan citizens who do not hold a valid visa or legal residence permit in Pakistan face the possibility of arrest and deportation.
In a statement issued on Monday, July 13 (22 Saratan), the Taliban’s High Commission for Refugees and Returnees Affairs said that those deported had returned to Afghanistan through the Torkham border crossing in Nangarhar province and the Spin Boldak crossing in Kandahar province. The commission also stated that 63 Afghan citizens were deported from Iran on the same day.
Following heightened tensions in relations with the Taliban, Pakistan has accelerated the deportation of Afghan migrants over the past year, and the process is ongoing. The Taliban have repeatedly accused Islamabad of using the issue of Afghan migrants as a tool to exert political pressure.
The continued large-scale deportations of Afghan migrants from neighboring countries have raised concerns over worsening humanitarian and social challenges in Afghanistan, a country already facing economic difficulties, unemployment, and limited access to essential services.
In its report titled “Afghanistan Returnees Resilience Overview,” the International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated that approximately 6.04 million Afghan citizens returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan and Iran between mid-September 2023 and May 30, 2026. The organization warned that the speed and scale of these returns have created serious challenges for the reintegration of returnees, the capacity of host communities, access to housing, public services, livelihood opportunities, and social cohesion.
According to figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around 3 million Afghan migrants have returned to Afghanistan since the beginning of 2025.
Meanwhile, a number of Afghan asylum seekers in Pakistan say that the intensified deportation process has left them facing fear, uncertainty, and insecurity. They say that if they are forced to return to Afghanistan, they could face serious risks to their safety and future.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
