At least 1.8 million Afghan migrants were forcibly deported from Iran over the past three months, Taliban officials said Wednesday, a surge that has intensified the country’s already severe humanitarian and economic crisis.
Abdul Rahman Rashid, the Taliban’s deputy minister of refugees, said at an annual briefing in Kabul that another 184,000 Afghans had been expelled from Pakistan and about 5,000 from Turkey this year.
Rashid said the ministry had signed 125 agreements with national and international organizations over the past year, securing more than $78 million in aid for returnees and displaced families. That assistance, he said, included vocational training for 34,000 people, cash support for 8,000 families, and food and other essentials for more than 420,000 households.
He also said that 9,951 Afghan prisoners had been released from jails in Iran and Pakistan and returned home. Under an order from the Taliban’s supreme leader, the ministry has begun work on 38 residential settlements for returnees across 29 provinces, with surveying and mapping already completed in some areas.
Still, many Afghans who have recently returned from Iran dispute the government’s claims, saying they have received little or no support. Several have reported being subjected to violence, humiliation, beatings and the confiscation of property during their deportation.
Taliban officials said the ministry had distributed 2.7 billion afghanis — about $38.8 million — in food, clothing and cash to more than 420,000 families. They also reported providing emergency relief to over 359,000 people displaced by natural disasters in the past year.
The ministry said it had compiled a list of about 90,000 returnee households across 34 provinces for future land allocations, and that more than 11,000 families had been moved from informal camps to their original homes. Officials also reported building 4,216 shelters, renovating 546 others and allocating 260 million afghanis (around $3.7 million) in cash assistance for Afghans deported from Turkey.
In addition, the ministry said about 1.4 million residence cards for Afghan migrants in Pakistan had been renewed and that 600 Afghans from Pakistan, Iran and other countries had been sent to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj pilgrimage.
Taliban officials stressed that their ministry had introduced digital systems in 34 provinces, handled nearly 2,000 legal cases and reestablished provincial reintegration committees. They also cited new collaborations with foreign partners, including China and the Qatar Red Crescent, which they said provided vehicles, water tankers, tents and ambulances.
This comes as aid groups and returning migrants say most families face dire conditions. Many lack permanent housing, stable income or access to basic services in Afghanistan, where the economy remains shattered.
