RASC News Agency: Recent data compiled from reports by the Bakhtar News Agency, operating under the Taliban administration, reveal that Iran and Pakistan expelled 989 Afghanistani migrant families between November 23 and November 29. The figures indicate that Iran forcibly and voluntarily deported 753 families, while Pakistan returned 236 families to Afghanistan during the same period.
The deported families entered Afghanistan through key border crossings in the provinces of Nangarhar, Kandahar, Nimroz, and Herat. Specifically, 95 families were processed through the Torkham crossing, and 141 families crossed via Spin Boldak. Meanwhile, 293 families returned through the Pul-e-Abrisham border in Nimroz, and another 460 families entered via Islam Qala in Herat. This mass expulsion comes on the heels of similar actions the previous week (November 16–22), during which 872 Afghanistani migrant families were deported from the two neighboring countries. Of these, Iran expelled 676 families, while Pakistan returned 196, with deportations classified as either voluntary or forced.
Many Afghanistani migrants in Pakistan and Iran have voiced complaints about “abusive, inhumane, and rights-violating” behavior by the police in these nations. These forced returns are occurring against a backdrop of widespread migration, as countless Afghanistanis have fled their homeland over the past three years to escape the Taliban’s oppressive policies targeting ethnic, cultural, and religious groups. The humanitarian crisis has further deepened as neighboring countries tighten immigration policies, leaving Afghanistani families in precarious situations with limited access to rights and resources.
