KABUL, Afghanistan — More than 8,000 Afghan migrants have been expelled from Pakistan over the past two days, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Wednesday, amid an ongoing crackdown that has drawn condemnation from humanitarian organizations.
According to UNAMA, a total of 8,025 Afghans — many of them holding Afghan Citizen Cards or other documentation — were deported through the Torkham border crossing, one of the main points of return for Afghan nationals.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), which has been assisting returnees, said it had provided aid to 2,614 deported Afghans since April 5.
The surge in expulsions comes as Pakistan enters the second phase of a nationwide campaign to remove undocumented Afghan migrants from the country. According to The Express Tribune, a Pakistani newspaper citing official immigration records, more than 11,000 Afghans were deported — either forcibly or voluntarily — between April 1 and April 8.
Of those, 2,242 individuals reportedly turned themselves in at a migrant repatriation camp in Landi Kotal, a town near the border, while the majority were returned via Torkham, the report said.
The newspaper also reported that at least 1,427 Afghans were detained across various Pakistani cities during the same period and later transferred to Torkham for deportation.
Since the start of the crackdown on September 17, 2023, Pakistan has expelled at least 469,159 Afghan migrants — representing more than 70,000 families — through the Torkham border alone, according to The Express Tribune.
Rights groups and international organizations have criticized the Pakistani government’s mass deportation campaign, warning of the humanitarian consequences for returnees, many of whom face displacement, lack of shelter, and limited access to services inside Afghanistan.
Despite international concern, Pakistani officials have defended the policy. The country’s defense minister recently declared that anyone opposing the deportation of Afghan nationals was “an enemy of Pakistan.”
In response, the Taliban have called on Pakistan to halt the forced removals and allow Afghans more time to return voluntarily.
