UNAMA chief Roza Otunbayeva warned that mass deportation of Afghan refugees from Iran and Pakistan could trigger a humanitarian crisis, straining Afghanistan’s fragile infrastructure and impoverished population.

Roza Otunbayeva, head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), has warned that the large-scale return of Afghan refugees could have catastrophic consequences without urgent global support.

During a visit to the Islam Qala border crossing on Monday, August 18, she said returnees face exhaustion, psychological trauma, and an uncertain future.

Otunbayeva stressed that women and children are particularly at risk, with very limited access to food, shelter, healthcare, and other basic services.

Currently, more than 70 percent of Afghans live in poverty, further complicating the prospects for reintegration of returnees into local communities.

Otunbayeva urged the international community, humanitarian organizations, and the Taliban not to remain passive in the face of what she described as an unfolding humanitarian crisis.

Her warning comes as both Iran and Pakistan intensify deportations of Afghan migrants, adding to Afghanistan’s economic hardships and increasing instability across the country.