KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports that nearly 120,000 Afghan refugees have been repatriated from Pakistan since the beginning of April, urging immediate support to assist the returnees.
In a video shared on X on Friday, Arafat Jamal, UNHCR’s Representative in Afghanistan, highlighted the struggles of those crossing back into Afghanistan. Speaking from the Torkham border crossing, Jamal said many returnees are “exhausted” and “worried” about their uncertain futures.
“Many of them have had to come with only a few belongings,” he said. “Vulnerable groups, including women and girls, are especially concerned as access to education, livelihoods, and freedom of movement may be restricted.”
Among the returnees are individuals who have never set foot in Afghanistan before—children of refugees born and raised in Pakistan. Their return, Jamal said, comes at a time when more than half of Afghanistan’s population depends on humanitarian aid to survive.
Jamal also warned that the agency’s ability to provide assistance is being hampered by “brutal funding cuts.” He stressed that more support is needed, adding, “The lives of millions of Afghans are hanging by a thread.”
Pakistan has recently intensified its crackdown on Afghan refugees, expelling thousands daily, including women and children. Since the beginning of its deportation plan in late 2023, nearly one million Afghans have been repatriated.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 1.6 million Afghan refugees will be repatriated from Pakistan in 2025, with 80% expected to return between April and September.
Meanwhile, Iran has also ramped up deportations. Over one million Afghans have been expelled from Iran in the past year, and the WHO predicts that figure could reach three million by the end of 2025.
Human rights groups and UN agencies have repeatedly called for both Pakistan and Iran to halt the deportations, citing the worsening humanitarian crisis in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. About 22.9 million people, mostly women and children, rely on aid, while the rights of women and girls remain severely restricted.
Rights groups have also warned that many returnees, especially activists, former government workers, and journalists, are at risk of retaliation from the Taliban.
