- Pakistan deported over 200,000 Afghans since April 2025, targeting undocumented residents.
- Iran also ordered millions of undocumented Afghans to leave by July 6.
- The UN warns Afghanistan’s reception system is overwhelmed by the surge in returns.
Since April 2025, Pakistan has deported more than 200,000 Afghans as part of a renewed campaign to expel undocumented migrants. The move is part of Islamabad’s efforts to remove over 800,000 Afghans without valid residence documents, including many who have spent decades in Pakistan or were born there.
Meanwhile, Iran has also stepped up expulsions, demanding undocumented Afghans leave by July 6. The International Organization for Migration recorded over 15,000 Afghan returns from Iran in May alone, more than double the previous month.
Afghans Face Mass Expulsion as Pakistan and Iran Tighten Borders
Afghans have sought refuge in Pakistan and Iran for over four decades, fleeing war, persecution, and economic collapse. The return of the Taliban in 2021 intensified the migration wave, pushing hundreds of thousands to cross into neighboring countries. However, regional tolerance is wearing thin amid rising domestic pressures.
Pakistan’s interior ministry said 135,000 Afghans left in April, followed by 67,000 in May, and more than 3,000 in the first two days of June. Officials are targeting individuals without legal documents, though critics argue that many deportees were integrated into Pakistani society and never posed a security threat.
The Pakistani government has linked the deportation campaign to growing national security concerns. It accuses Kabul of harboring militants who cross the porous border to carry out attacks in Pakistan. Last year, the country recorded its highest number of terrorist-related deaths in a decade, adding urgency to its border control policies.
Iran, meanwhile, is preparing to deport up to four million undocumented Afghans. With only limited international aid reaching Afghanistan, both countries’ expulsion drives risk destabilizing an already volatile region. The UN has urged a halt to forced deportations, citing humanitarian and legal concerns.
The simultaneous deportation campaigns by Pakistan and Iran are placing immense pressure on Afghanistan’s ability to reintegrate returnees, highlighting the urgent need for regional cooperation and humanitarian support to avoid a deeper crisis.
“No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark.” – Warsan Shire
