Over 4,500 Afghan refugees forcibly repatriated from Pakistan, Iran in single day: Taliban

Kabul: More than 4,500 Afghan refugees were forcibly repatriated from Pakistan and Iran in a single day, a Taliban official said on Sunday, as per local media.

Sharing a report from the High Commission for Addressing Migrants’ Issues on X, Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat stated that 913 families, comprising 4,991 individuals, returned to Afghanistan on Saturday, Pajhwok Afghan News reported.

As per the report, the returnees entered Afghanistan through Spin Boldak in Kandahar, Bahramcha in Helmand, Torkham crossing in Nangarhar, Islam Qala crossing in Herat, and Pul-i-Abresham in Nimroz.

The spokesman further said that 933 families (5,068 people) who returned to Afghanistan were taken to their respective home areas, while 754 families were provided humanitarian assistance. Telecommunication firms provided 771 SIM cards to Afghan refugees who returned to their homes.

Fitrat stated that 10,043 Afghan refugees were deported from Iran and Pakistan on Thursday.

As the deportation of Afghan refugees from Iran and Pakistan continues, several returnees living in a migrant camp in Kabul have criticised the Pakistani police’s mistreatment and mentioned that all their belongings were left behind in that country, Afghanistan’s Tolo News reported. Afghan returnees have raised immediate demand for shelter, land, economic assistance, and job opportunities.

Speaking to Tolo News, Jamaluddin, who has been deported from Pakistan, said: “We were forcibly expelled; some of our belongings remained there. Here, we have neither money nor shelter. The problems are overwhelming; it’s cold, and winter has arrived.”

Another deportee from Pakistan, Gulzar, said: “We were expelled. That country was foreign. Now we’ve returned to our homeland, and I call on the Islamic Emirate to support us.”

Several deported Afghan refugees have said that they have lost all their property and belongings in Pakistan and have urged the Taliban to provide shelter, emergency aid, and employment opportunities.

Jan Mohammad, a returnee from Iran, said: “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan must help these people; they have no place to live. I myself am heading to Jawzjan province and have nowhere to stay.”

IANS