Pakistan and Iran deported nearly 5,000 Afghan migrants in a single day, the Taliban-run Commission for Refugee Affairs said Tuesday, as the mass return of Afghans from neighboring countries continues to accelerate.
According to the commission, 3,358 migrants were deported from Pakistan and 1,618 from Iran on Monday, Oct. 6, either forcibly or voluntarily. The returnees entered Afghanistan through the Torkham, Spin Boldak, Pul-e Abrisham, and Islam Qala border crossings.
Both Iran and Pakistan have intensified expulsions of undocumented Afghans in recent months. Humanitarian organizations warn that the sudden influx of returnees is straining Afghanistan’s already fragile economy, which is struggling with high unemployment, natural disasters, and deepening poverty.
Last week, Majid Shoja, Iran’s border guard commander for Khorasan Razavi province, said the number of Afghans attempting to enter Iran illegally has more than doubled compared with last year. He said about 40,000 undocumented Afghans were detained and deported in the first half of this year, up from 19,000 during the same period in 2024.
Iranian authorities say most deportations take place through the Dogharoon border crossing, while Pakistan continues to expel thousands of Afghans through Torkham and Spin Boldak as part of its ongoing crackdown on undocumented migrants.
Human rights groups have criticized both countries for forcibly returning Afghans, including women and children, to a country facing severe humanitarian and human rights crises under Taliban rule.
Many Afghans cite economic hardship, insecurity, and Taliban-imposed restrictions on women and girls as the main reasons for leaving the country, only to face detention or deportation abroad.
