As deportations intensify, figures by the Taliban’s committee for refugees show that Pakistan expelled nearly 8,000 Afghan nationals on Saturday, Nov. 1.
The migrants were deported through the Spin Boldak border crossing in Kandahar Province. An additional 85 Afghan nationals were deported from Iran, both forcibly and voluntarily, via the Islam Qala and Silk Bridge (Pul-e Abrisham) border points, the commission said.
Just a day earlier, on Friday, Pakistan had deported 7,945 Afghans, part of a broader crackdown that has accelerated since the Pakistani government’s deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country by November 1.
The deportation drive—announced in October—has affected over one million Afghan nationals, many of whom had lived in Pakistan for decades, some of them born there. Pakistani authorities have cited national security concerns, alleging that militants were using Afghan refugee communities for shelter and operations.
With thousands returning daily, Afghanistan’s border provinces, particularly Kandahar and Herat, are struggling to absorb the sudden influx. Aid agencies and local reports describe dire conditions for deported families—many of whom are arriving with no belongings, no shelter, and nowhere to go.
In Kandahar, one of the hardest-hit regions, recently returned families are living under makeshift tents, often in open fields or alongside roads, according to previous reports by Amu TV. They lack access to clean drinking water, electricity, medical services, and employment opportunities. Children are reportedly suffering from cold weather and inadequate nutrition.
Human rights groups and UN agencies have called for a halt to mass deportations, warning that Afghanistan—already in the grip of a humanitarian and economic crisis—lacks the infrastructure to support the returnees. The Taliban, which remains under international sanctions and isolated from most foreign aid channels, has said it is unprepared to meet the scale of need.
Despite global concern, Pakistani authorities have defended the policy as a matter of domestic security, and deportations have continued across all major border crossings, including Torkham, Spin Boldak, and Chaman.
Iran, meanwhile, has also ramped up removals of Afghan migrants, although in smaller numbers. Tehran has expelled tens of thousands of undocumented Afghans in recent years and maintains tight border controls. In recent days, small groups of deportees have continued to cross back into Afghanistan.
The mass expulsions come at a time of worsening relations between the Taliban and regional neighbors, particularly Pakistan, which has accused the Taliban of harboring militants from Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a banned group responsible for deadly attacks inside Pakistan.
While Taliban have condemned the deportations as inhumane, they have yet to announce a coordinated plan to manage the growing humanitarian crisis inside their own borders.
