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| Afghanistan | |
| Pakistan Deports Over 20,000 Afghan Families in 5 Months | |
| 2025-05-27 | |
From time to time we check on the countries around Afghanistan to see that yes, they continue to send back more of the millions of Afghan refugees that have been accumulating in the near-abroad since the Soviet era. The profits for hosting them dried up after the Biden-Harris Politburo gave Kabul to the Taliban. [ToloNews] In the past five months, Pakistan has forcibly deported more than 20,000 Afghan families through the Torkham crossing.Baz Mohammad Abdul Rahman, Director of Refugees and Repatriation in Nangarhar, told TOLOnews that seventy percent of these families have been resettled in Nangarhar province. He stated: “The number of returnees is 97,883 individuals, with 70 percent of them settled in Nangarhar and the remaining 30 percent relocated to other provinces. In Nangarhar alone, 14,316 families—comprising 68,591 individuals—have been resettled.”
They are calling on the interim government and aid organizations to assist them in securing shelter. Arman Khan, a recently deported returnee, said: “When we crossed through Torkham, the Pakistani police told us we had to pay two thousand rupees. We paid the money and were allowed to pass.” Mir Ahmad Khan, another deportee, said: “If we are supported for even one year, we can stand on our own again. A hand of cooperation must be extended to us.” According to recent UN statistics, since 2023, Iran and Pakistan have forcibly returned more than three million Afghan migrants to Afghanistan. Afghanistan Faces Continuing Waves of Deportees [ToloNews] Seven years ago, Ghulam Nabi, along with his wife and six children, left for Iran to escape poverty, insecurity, and unemployment. But today, after years of living in exile, he is once again in Kabul—not by choice, but by force. Ghulam Nabi, deported from Iran, describes his challenges: “We left here because of poverty and hardship, hoping for a better life there. For the first two or three years, no one bothered us, but in recent months, the pressure increased significantly. We were always running from the police, but eventually, around four o'clock, they caught us all and took us to a camp.” Alongside him, thousands of other families are returning—people who had lived in Iran or Pakistan for years but now have to rebuild their lives in Afghanistan from scratch. Arefa, deported from Iran, said: “We returned from the border and are now facing many difficulties. We lived in another country for a while, and now we’ve come back to our homeland. We ask our government to help us.” Aziz, deported from Pakistan, said: “We were working and earning a living in Pakistan, but now that we’ve returned to Afghanistan, we are facing many problems and need cooperation and support.” According to a recent report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 107,000 Afghan migrants were deported from Iran and Pakistan in just one week—from May 11 to May 17. The IOM stated in its report that between May 11 and 17, there were 58,200 entries from Iran and 49,245 entries from Pakistan into Afghanistan, recorded by the organization. Experts warn that the mass deportation of migrants without any preparedness for their reintegration could trigger a new humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Mohammad Khan Talebi Mohammadzai, a migrant rights activist, said: “As long as the return of migrants is not voluntary and supported by international organizations, such actions are considered a violation of human rights. International organizations and humanitarian bodies must negotiate with host governments about harsh migration policies to ease the difficulties faced by migrants.” Meanwhile, the International Crisis Group has urged the European Union to apply political pressure on Pakistan to halt the forced deportation of Afghan refugees. The Crisis Group said in a report: “The EU should also scale up its response within Afghanistan, enhancing assistance for returnees and host communities." Alireza Karimi, another migrant rights activist, echoed this view: “EU pressure can be somewhat effective, especially if it is accompanied by threats of financial aid cuts and reduced diplomatic ties. However, to fully prevent deportations, a multilateral solution is needed.” Previously, a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stated that 380,000 Afghan migrants have been deported from neighboring countries this year alone and stressed that Afghanistan is not prepared to accommodate this number of returnees. | |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #1 Gotta love that whole "ummah" thing |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2025-05-27 09:09 |