RASC News Agency: During a high-level meeting of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Monday, Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Geneva reported that nearly 8 million Afghanistanis have fled the country in the past three years. Nasir Andisha emphasized that the plight of Afghanistani migrants and internally displaced individuals presents one of the gravest challenges facing the international community.
Andisha’s statements were made at the 75th UNHCR Annual Meeting, where he described the mass exodus of 8 million Afghanistanis following the Taliban’s military resurgence as “one of the largest mass migrations in human history.” The International Organization for Migration (IOM) indicated in mid-August that this exodus has been marked by more than 8 million Afghanistanis leaving their homeland since the Taliban’s return to power. Approximately 1 million Afghanistanis have sought asylum in European nations, with 85% relocating to neighboring countries, primarily Iran and Pakistan.
Reports suggest that numerous Afghanistanis have departed due to escalating security threats and rising unemployment. Nonetheless, the Taliban’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation announced that 640,000 Afghanistani migrants have returned to Afghanistan over the past six months, mainly from Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. In recent months, both Pakistan and Iran have reportedly detained and expelled hundreds of thousands of Afghanistani migrants. The major factors driving this migration crisis include a lack of employment opportunities, pervasive poverty, systemic marginalization, ethnic and political oppression, and fears of persecution from the Taliban.
