KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Iran and Pakistan expelled nearly 20,000 Afghans on Tuesday, as Afghanistan struggles to recover from a powerful earthquake that has killed more than a thousand people and left thousands homeless.
The Taliban-run Bakhtar News Agency said 19,499 people crossed back into Afghanistan that day. More than 10,900 arrived from Pakistan through the Torkham, Spin Boldak, Angur Ada and Bahramcha crossings. Another 8,500 came from Iran via Islam Qala and the Silk Road.
The previous day, 16,338 Afghans entered from the two countries, the Taliban said.
Iran and Pakistan have intensified deportations in recent months, forcing thousands of Afghans to return to a country already struggling with a humanitarian crisis and severe Taliban restrictions.
The UN says more than four million Afghans have been deported or returned from Iran and Pakistan over the past two years, including more than two million since January 2025.
The latest expulsions come as Afghanistan reels from a 6.0 magnitude earthquake that struck eastern provinces late on Sunday. The quake, followed by a series of aftershocks, flattened villages in Kunar and surrounding areas. Taliban officials say at least 1,457 people have been killed and more than 3,300 others injured. Over 12,000 residents are directly affected, with thousands of homes destroyed.
Aid groups warn that the arrival of deportees in quake-hit areas will put further pressure on already limited resources. The UN and humanitarian agencies have appealed for more funding, warning that Afghanistan risks deeper instability as multiple crises converge.
Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan, on Tuesday urged Pakistan to halt the deportations, at least temporarily, in light of the crisis.
“This would be the action of a compassionate neighbor and is the urgent priority,” Bennett wrote on X.
