In an interview, Arafat Jamal, the UNHCR representative for Afghanistan, said he was concerned about the pushback, as anger at the strikes could have spilled over on Afghans in Iran.
The IFRC has called for immediate international aid to assist Afghanistan, as over 800,000 migrants, primarily from Iran, return this year.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has called for increased global support in response to the rising deportation of Afghan migrants from Iran. Since January this year, over 800,000 Afghan migrants have returned to Afghanistan through the Islam Qala border crossing. In June alone, more than 137,000 people arrived, many of them exhausted and lacking sufficient food, water, or shelter.
The IFRC has expressed urgent concern about the intensifying situation, as these migrants arrive in a country already facing significant challenges, including decades of conflict, economic hardship, and natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. As the temperatures soar, families at the border endure extreme heat, with some days reaching above 40°C. Many migrants only have the few belongings they can carry, and children show visible signs of malnutrition. Mothers appear fatigued and anxious, highlighting the desperate need for assistance.
In addition to the returnees from Iran, more than one million migrants have also returned from Pakistan since late 2023. This mass return of migrants is placing further strain on Afghanistan’s already overwhelmed local systems and humanitarian services, which are struggling to meet the needs of both new arrivals and existing vulnerable populations.
Alexander Matheou, IFRC’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, recently visited the Islam Qala border and emphasized that the crisis has not received the attention it deserves. He stated, “These individuals are not just statistics; they are mothers, fathers, children, and families returning to a country facing significant challenges. It is crucial that we treat them with the dignity and respect they deserve and support them in rebuilding their lives.”
The decision to return for many of these migrants, who have lived for decades in Iran or Pakistan, has been influenced by evolving legal frameworks, worsening economic conditions, and increasing regional tensions. These migrants are now arriving in Afghanistan, a country that continues to face considerable crises, further complicating efforts to provide basic services and support.
The situation at the Afghanistan-Iran border is increasingly dire, with families facing extreme conditions. The IFRC’s call for immediate international assistance highlights the urgent need for a coordinated global response. The overwhelming numbers of returnees underscore the critical role that humanitarian aid plays in easing the suffering of these vulnerable populations.
To mitigate the ongoing crisis, international collaboration is essential. Both the local administration and humanitarian organizations must work together to ensure the safe reintegration of returnees. Increased support and coordinated efforts are necessary to provide adequate care, ensuring the dignity and well-being of those who are most vulnerable in Afghanistan.
He’s on the staff of the Afghan charity Aseel, and he’s speaking about Afghan refugees in Pakistan who lived there for years, even decades — and are now being removed from their homes by police and sent back to the border.
Ghiasi told NPR that a refugee named Mausera spoke to one of his colleagues at Aseel and shared video of the interview. She told Aseel that interviewer that she had lived with her two grandchildren and worked as a cleaner in Pakistan to support them and that – her son had been was killed years ago and her husband abandoned her long before.
Deportations are occurring from Iran as well. The two countries had been home to 3.5 million Afghan refugees. There have been waves of returnees over the last few years, said Sherine Ibrahim, the Afghanistan country director for the International Rescue Committee. But this year, Iran and Pakistan have stepped up the deportations.
A U.N. report released on Thursday says that 71,000 Afghan refugees from the two countries were deported just from June 1 to June 15, adding to millions who have been deported or left since 2023. Ghiasi says he and his colleagues spent much of early June at the Torkham crossing and counted some 5,000 families arriving every day.
In videos shared by Aseel, the border crossing is a sea of humanity: Men, women and children packed into trucks, vans and small cars. Some of the women were clutching newborn babies. People sat atop piles of meager belongings, some of which are bundled in bedsheets.
Ghiasi said the forced deportations are hardest on children, who “understand that something terrible is happening, but they don’t fully grasp why they are being removed from the only homes they’ve ever known.” And perhaps the only homes their parents have ever known, he said. “Most of the deportees have lived in Pakistan for over three decades. A large majority of them have nowhere to go and no place to call home upon return.”
The reasons for the waves of deportations aren’t fully clear. Representatives of the two country governments did not respond to an NPR request for comments.
One explanation is that the governments want to remove those immigrants who do not have proper documentation.
On June 7, Fatemeh Mohajerani, an Iranian government spokesperson, told local media: “The government differentiates between legal and illegal residents. The decision is that those with valid legal documents will be allowed to stay in accordance with the law, while those without legal documents may leave.”
The deportations reflect a growing anti-immigrant sentiment worldwide, says Teresa Casale, executive director of Mina’s List, a human rights organization working on resettlement and advocacy for Afghan women refugees. And the U.S. crackdown on immigrants under Trump makes it more difficult if not impossible for Afghan refugees in other countries to resettle in the United States.
And the Afghan refugees in Pakistan have no real rights to protect them. “It’s so unfortunate that Pakistan is not a signatory to any kind of international refugee protocols or conventions, so obtaining legal status for refugees there is virtually impossible,” Casale added.
“In the worst-case scenario, more than three million people could be forced to return to Afghanistan by the end of 2025,” said Jacopo Caridi, country director of Norwegian Refugee Council in Afghanistan.
One thing is clear to advocates: The timing couldn’t be worse.
Afghans are returning to a country suffering a humanitarian crisis, which has grown more dire since the Taliban seized power more than three years ago.
“Afghanistan is a humanitarian crisis unto itself,” says Ibrahim of the IRC. “There are 23 million people in need.”
In February and March, other major aid donors, including the U.K., also announced they were curtailing their foreign aid budgets, forcing charities to curtail their activities in Afghanistan, which is among the world’s most reliant countries on international donors. This year, foreign donors have only pledged 20% of what humanitarian groups say they need to offer basic services to Afghanistan, according to Caridi.
Then in early April, all U.S. humanitarian aid to Afghanistan was eliminated. The canceled contracts totaled $280 million with the World Food Programme, $24 million with the United Nations Population Fund and $257 million with other nongovernmental organizations.
Needs will not be met, says Ibrahim: “The surge of numbers means that very few people are going to be getting the immediate support that they need.”
Many of the returnees are women on their own. She says: “I’ve met women who’ve said to me, I’ve been separated from my family. I have nowhere to go. I can’t walk around Afghanistan or travel to a community of origin because I don’t have a mahram, which is the male companion — a blood relative who is a male.”
As families return to Afghanistan, aid workers say they expect to see a rise in child labor. Many of the deported families are headed by women — the Taliban does not allow them to work in most professions so “families rely on children to earn a living,” said Safi Nurzai, who also works at the Afghan aid group As
Ruchi Kumar is a journalist who reports on conflict, politics, development and culture in India and Afghanistan.
Pakistan is reviewing the extension of the Afghan migrant deportation deadline, providing more time for migrants to manage personal affairs before return.
Pakistani officials have announced that the government is considering extending the deadline for the forced return of 1.4 million Afghan migrants who are legally residing in Pakistan. This decision comes as the June 30 deadline approaches, and the extension is aimed at providing more time for individuals to manage personal affairs, such as selling property and ending business activities before their orderly return to Afghanistan.
The proposal was prepared last week and presented to the cabinet for approval. A final decision on the matter is expected to be made during the upcoming cabinet meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday. This extension is seen as a way to ensure a more organized and smoother return process for the migrants.
According to reports, approximately 1.4 million Afghan migrants in Pakistan hold legal registration cards, while 800,000 others have Afghan citizenship cards. An additional one million are considered illegal migrants, and their forced repatriation has drawn widespread criticism.
The mass return of Afghan migrants has sparked intense criticism from international organizations. The United Nations and human rights groups have expressed concerns about the treatment of migrants, particularly the arbitrary arrests and forced expulsions. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that more than 256,000 people returned to Afghanistan from Iran in July alone, adding pressure to Afghanistan’s already fragile systems.
The IOM has raised alarms that Afghanistan lacks the capacity to handle such a large number of returnees, with local systems facing imminent collapse. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has also warned that the extensive returns could destabilize Afghanistan further, as the country’s infrastructure is already under significant strain.
The growing number of returnees, coupled with warnings from international organizations, highlights the need for urgent international support. Afghanistan’s fragile infrastructure may struggle to accommodate these migrants without substantial aid, raising serious humanitarian concerns.
The situation requires coordinated efforts between Pakistan and Afghanistan, alongside international intervention, to ensure the safe return of migrants. Without effective diplomatic solutions and aid, both countries face increasing challenges, with potential long-term repercussions for regional stability.
Afghanistan Peace Campaign