RASC News Agency: Over the past two days November 8-9, Turkey deported 325 Afghanistani migrants, returning them to Kabul on chartered flights, according to a statement by the Taliban’s Ministry of Refugees. The ministry reported that among those deported were individuals with “valid legal documents,” highlighting Turkey’s ongoing crackdown on Afghanistani migrants. This incident follows recent remarks by Afghanistan’s representative in Geneva, Nasir Ahmad Andisha, who reported to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that more than 8 million Afghanistanis have fled the country since the Taliban’s return to power.
Andisha attributed this mass exodus to severe human rights violations by the Taliban, suppression of citizens particularly women, bans on girls’ education, mounting poverty, and targeted retribution by Taliban forces. UNHCR previously identified widespread persecution, armed conflict, systemic violence, human rights abuses, and severe disruptions to public order as principal factors driving global migration. Afghanistan, along with Syria, remains at the forefront of countries with the highest rates of irregular migration, according to data from the UNHCR and other international agencies.
In parallel, Iran and Pakistan have intensified their deportations of Afghanistani migrants, drawing criticism from human rights organizations. Many Afghanistani migrants in these countries report abuses that contravene international refugee protections, with accusations of harassment and mistreatment by local authorities. Earlier this month, the Director General for Foreign Nationals and Immigrants in Khorasan Razavi, Iran, stated that over 3,000 Afghanistani migrants are forcibly deported daily from the Dogharoon border.
Hossein Sharafati-Rad, Iran’s official in charge of migration in Khorasan Razavi, reported a 40% increase in deportations compared to last year. UNHCR’s recent global migration report indicated a 5% rise in global migration figures this year, with an additional 5.3 million people displaced a stark reminder of the worsening migration crisis worldwide.
