KABUL – Tajik authorities have launched a new wave of deportations targeting Afghan refugees and asylum seekers, sparking alarm among rights groups and the United Nations. Reports indicate that hundreds of Afghans living in districts near Dushanbe have been detained and sent back to Afghanistan in recent weeks.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service report that Afghan refugees in Rudaki district and the town of Vahdat, about 26 kilometers east of the capital, are being rounded up in large numbers. Refugees told reporters that on July 15, several vans arrived in Vahdat and took away dozens of men, women, and children. Many Afghans now remain confined to their homes, fearing arrest if they go outside.
The latest crackdown began earlier this month when Afghan refugees received SMS warnings telling them to leave Tajikistan within 15 days or face forcible deportation. Tajik officials initially remained silent but later issued a statement on July 19, claiming that some “foreign citizens” had entered illegally and were involved in activities such as drug trafficking or using fraudulent documents to obtain refugee status.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), nearly 9,900 Afghan refugees are registered in Tajikistan, though unofficial estimates suggest higher numbers. Many have lived in Tajikistan for years, some since the fall of the Western-backed Afghan government in 2021. Among them are former Afghan officials, security personnel, and journalists—groups considered at high risk of reprisals under Taliban rule.
UNHCR and rights organizations have repeatedly urged Tajikistan to halt deportations, warning that returning Afghans could face persecution, imprisonment, or even execution.
The renewed deportations come as Iran and Pakistan have intensified their crackdowns on Afghan refugees, deporting nearly two million undocumented Afghans since the beginning of this year. A new UN report reveals disturbing evidence that the Taliban are committing serious human rights violations, particularly torture, arbitrary detention, and threats, against Afghans who have been forcibly returned from Iran and Pakistan.
Unlike Iran and Pakistan, Tajikistan has no formal diplomatic ties with the Taliban regime and still hosts the Afghan embassy loyal to the former republic, making the return of deportees even riskier.
Analysts warn that those sent back could face severe retaliation, particularly ex-soldiers, former officials, and civil society activists.
