Over 10,000 Afghan refugees forcibly deported from Iran, Pakistan

Over 10,000 Afghan refugees were forcibly deported from Iran and Pakistan in two days, with thousands more detained in Pakistan in 2025. Humanitarian groups warn of instability, lack of housing, and basic services for returned families.

Kabul: Over 10,000 Afghan refugees were forcibly deported from Iran and Pakistan in the last two days, an Afghan official said on Saturday.

Sharing a report from the High Commission for Addressing Migrants’ Issues on X, Deputy spokesperson for the Afghan government, Hamdullah Fitrat, stated 1,939 families, comprising 10,043 individuals, returned to Afghanistan on Thursday and Friday.

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According to the report, the refugees returned to Afghanistan through major border crossings, including Islam Qala in Herat, Pul-i-Abresham in Nimroz, Spin Boldak in Kandahar, Bahramcha in Helmand and Torkham in Nangarhar.
Fitrat said that 1,464 refugee families comprising 8,140 individuals were relocated to their respective regions, while 1,279 families were provided humanitarian assistance, Pajhwok Afghan News reported

He noted that telecommunication companies handed out a total of 1,626 SIM cards to the returnees. He also stated that last Wednesday, Pakistani and Iranian authorities forcibly repatriated 2,300 Afghan refugees.

Earlier in November, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) revealed that Pakistan has detained a record number of Afghan migrants in 2025, with the highest number of arrests reported in Balochistan and Punjab provinces.

A new UNHCR report has revealed that the majority of arrests were made in Chagai and Quetta districts of Balochistan and Attock districts of Punjab, Afghanistan’s leading news agency Khaama Press reported.

According to the agency, Pakistani authorities arrested 100,971 Afghans between January 1 and mid-November 2025, a record rise compared with about 9,000 arrests in 2024 and over 26,000 in 2023.

UNHCR said 76 per cent of those detained were Afghan Citizen Card holders or undocumented migrants, while the remaining 24 per cent possessed Proof of Registration cards.

The rise in detention of Afghan migrants comes after two government orders in 2025, which directed the removal of Afghan migrants from Islamabad and Rawalpindi and allowed police to arrest PoR-card holders.

Several humanitarian organisations have urged Pakistan to ensure that any returns are voluntary and in accordance with international obligations. They warned that mass expulsions cause instability along the Afghanistan border, where newly returned families often lack housing, employment and basic services.