KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Over 750 Afghan families were either deported or voluntarily returned from Iran and Pakistan on Monday, as both neighboring countries intensified their crackdown on Afghan refugees, the Taliban-controlled Bakhtar News Agency reported.
According to the agency, 437 families crossed from Pakistan through the Torkham and Spin Boldak border points, while 315 families entered from Iran via the Pul-e-Abresham and Islam Qala crossings.
Upon arrival, the families were provided with basic assistance, the report added.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, also posted on X, revealing that 8.2 million Afghanis (approximately $115,000) had been distributed to 718 families who returned that day.
Both Iran and Pakistan, which have hosted millions of Afghan refugees for decades, have ramped up deportations in recent months, sending thousands back to Afghanistan, where a deepening humanitarian crisis and restrictions on basic freedoms persist.
Since September 2023, over 2.4 million Afghan refugees have been deported or have voluntarily returned from Iran and Pakistan, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Deportations from Pakistan have seen a sharp rise in recent weeks, with more than 100,000 Afghans sent back in the past three weeks alone, according to Pakistani authorities.
The UN and human rights groups have repeatedly urged an immediate halt to the deportations, citing the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. They have also warned that many Afghans — particularly activists and former government employees — are at risk of retaliation by the Taliban.
