Torkham, Afghanistan — Pakistan has expelled thousands of Afghan migrants in recent weeks, including many who were born and raised in the country and had never set foot in Afghanistan before.
Several returning migrants said they were forced to leave after facing harassment and pressure from Pakistani police. Some reported that police raided their homes in the middle of the night, extorted money and detained family members to compel them to leave.
“We lived in Pakistan for 45 years,” said one migrant, who asked not to be named. “Life was good, but because of the police, we had no choice but to leave.”
Another migrant said police had demanded 20,000 Pakistani rupees to avoid detaining women and children during a late-night raid. Such accounts of extortion and intimidation were echoed by many returnees interviewed at the Afghan border.
On Thursday alone, nearly 3,000 Afghans crossed back into Afghanistan from Pakistan, according to a Taliban-appointed commission overseeing migrant affairs. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that more than 60,000 Afghans have returned or been expelled over the past two weeks. Many had been living legally in Pakistan with Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) issued by the government.
While some returnees were able to gather their belongings before leaving, others said they were arrested and expelled without warning, leaving everything behind.
Among the deportees are young Afghans who were born in Pakistan and are returning to a country they have never known. Many said they are facing an uncertain future, with little idea of what awaits them in Afghanistan.
The Taliban have said they are preparing to provide assistance to returning migrants, though the scale of returns is placing additional pressure on Afghanistan’s fragile economy and humanitarian infrastructure.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that house-to-house searches, arrests and forced deportations have intensified in several Pakistani cities, including Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Karachi, targeting Afghans with or without legal documentation.
