The Taliban’s High Commission for Refugee Affairs has announced that the Pakistani government, yesterday (Sunday, 23 November), deported 6,247 Afghan migrants.
These individuals entered the country through the only two border crossings currently open to Afghan migrants — Torkham and Spin Boldak.
According to Taliban figures, since 11 Aqrab, a total of 213,333 Afghan migrants have been forcibly returned from Pakistan.
After the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan, a large number of people migrated to neighboring countries and beyond. A major portion of them left due to fear of Taliban reprisals.
Pakistan is now seriously pursuing the deportation process of Afghan migrants, without considering the potential dangers they may face.
The United Nations and its experts have repeatedly reported that the Taliban detain and torture some of the individuals who are returned.
On a daily basis, typically between 5,000 and 11,000 people enter Afghanistan from Pakistan.
Iran, although to a lesser extent, has also begun the deportation of Afghan migrants. Just yesterday alone, it forcibly returned 285 people.
These returnees face a country vastly different from their host nation — Afghanistan is gripped by poverty, malnutrition, unemployment, and a deep human-rights crisis.
