Iran and Pakistan Intensify Deportations of Afghan Immigrants Amid Growing Crisis

This comes amid an escalating trend of mass deportations by both Iran and Pakistan, as both nations have recently heightened efforts to expel Afghan immigrants and enhance security measures to prevent illegal entry.

 In the first half of this year alone, the Iranian government deported a significant number of Afghan immigrants, totaling 328,000. Simultaneously, Pakistan, too, has been intensifying the process of expelling Afghan refugees, notably targeting those lacking legal residence permits.

Sardar Majid Shuja, the border guard commander of Khorasan Razavi Province, revealed that Iranian border guards expelled 24,884 "illegal Afghan citizens" in less than two weeks through the Dogharon border.

These mass deportations unfold against the backdrop of Afghanistan experiencing severe challenges, including heightened poverty, hunger, unemployment, and unprecedented food insecurity. 

United Nations statistics highlight that over 90% of Afghanistan's population is currently grappling with food insecurity.

In early October, Pakistan issued a notice instructing Afghan immigrants without legal residence permits to voluntarily leave the country by November 1st. 

Since the deadline, Pakistani authorities have initiated an aggressive arrest and deportation campaign, resulting in the daily expulsion of thousands of Afghans, according to a UN report. 

The cumulative figure for Afghan refugees expelled from Pakistan has now surpassed 400,000.

Afghanistan is presently facing one of its most severe humanitarian crises in recent years, marked by a surge in hunger and malnutrition. 

The crisis has been exacerbated by the worst drought in the last 30 years and a debilitating economic downturn, leaving two out of three people in Afghanistan in dire need, as highlighted by the United Nations.