Afghanistan Peace Campaign
On the night of August 31, eastern Afghanistan was struck by a powerful 6.0-magnitude earthquake with its epicenter near Jalalabad in Nangarhar province. The tremor, recorded at 11:47 p.m. local time, devastated the mountainous terrain, flattening villages and reducing thousands of homes to rubble. More than 1,400 people lost their lives, over 3,000 were injured, and countless families were displaced. The quake’s impact reverberated across South Asia, felt as far as Pakistan and India, highlighting the seismic vulnerability of the Hindu Kush region where tectonic plates frequently collide with destructive force.
The earthquake struck at a time of deep fragility for Afghanistan, a nation grappling with widespread poverty, prolonged drought, and the legacy of decades of conflict. The Taliban administration, still seeking to consolidate governance since its takeover in 2021, now faces a humanitarian emergency compounded by dwindling international aid and the arrival of large numbers of forcibly returned refugees. Rescue teams continue to struggle to reach remote villages near the Pakistan border, where mudbrick homes collapsed on steep slopes. Health ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman warned that casualty figures are expected to rise as efforts to access cut-off areas continue. Clinics and hospitals remain overwhelmed, with hundreds of injured already admitted.
While Afghanistan confronts the consequences of the earthquake, its burden is intensified by a parallel crisis across its borders. Pakistan has pressed forward with its “Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan,” targeting both undocumented Afghans and those with official documentation. The campaign affects more than 1.4 million refugees holding UNHCR-issued Proof of Registration (PoR) cards and around 800,000 with Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC). Despite repeated appeals from international bodies, including UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, Islamabad has maintained its deportation policy. A September 1 deadline required PoR card holders to leave voluntarily or face arrest and expulsion. In the days following, thousands of Afghans crossed border points such as Torkham, Chaman, and Spin Boldak. At Torkham alone, over 6,300 individuals with PoR cards returned in a single day, many to homes destroyed by the earthquake or to regions without infrastructure or support.
Reports from deportees describe widespread harassment, police raids, extortion, and repeated detentions. In cities like Islamabad, families fled in groups to avoid separation, with many born and raised in Pakistan now facing an unfamiliar and unstable homeland. Refugees have expressed fear and uncertainty as they return to areas where services are already stretched by disaster recovery efforts. Since April 2025, over 362,000 Afghans have returned from Pakistan, including more than 54,000 deportations. Arrests have surged in Balochistan and Punjab, straining both Afghan authorities and international humanitarian organizations. The earthquake has magnified this crisis, leaving many returnees without shelter, livelihoods, or basic assistance.
The Taliban administration has not directly opposed Pakistan’s decision but has called for a gradual approach, urging that returnees be given time to settle financial matters and collect belongings. Pakistani officials have denied systematic abuse but acknowledge challenges created by the scale and pace of the campaign. The United Nations has voiced strong concern. UNHCR spokesperson Qaiser Khan Afridi described the deportations as a violation of international obligations, warning that mass returns carried out under such conditions could destabilize Afghanistan further. Human rights advocates stress that women and girls are particularly vulnerable, given restrictions on education, employment, and mobility under the Taliban-led government.
The combination of natural disaster and mass deportation has left Afghanistan in a precarious situation. Each life lost in the earthquake represents not only a personal tragedy but also a blow to a population already enduring displacement, deprivation, and political isolation. The continuation of deportations during such a critical moment has drawn widespread criticism, with observers calling it both legally questionable and morally indefensible. Afghanistan’s overlapping crises demand urgent international attention, sustained humanitarian support, and a renewed commitment to protecting the dignity and rights of its people.