UN sees ‘alarming’ surge in Afghan families deported from Iran

KABUL: The UN on Tuesday voiced concern over a surge in Afghan families deported from Iran, recording a more than two-fold increase in May from the previous month, as the rise in returnees squeeze’s Afghanistan’s resources.

Afghanistan’s border points with Iran regularly see a steady stream of Afghans returning forcibly or voluntarily after crossing into the neighbouring country, often seeking work.

But in May, there was “sharp rise in the forced return of Afghan nationals” from Iran, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement.

“Particularly alarming is a significant surge in the number of families being deported – a new and concerning trend, as returnees deported in previous months were predominantly single young men,” it added.

The IOM said 15,675 Afghan families had crossed the border from Iran in May compared to 6,879 in April.

Islamabad says more than 100,000 Afghans left Pakistan in April

The number of Afghan families without legal documentation in Iran returning to Afghanistan last month was three times higher than in May last year, it added.

According to the IOM, Iranian officials issued a public statement in late May ordering Afghans without documentation to remain in Iran to leave by July 6, “potentially affecting up to 4 million people”.

Already since January this year, more than 450,000 Afghans have returned from Iran, the IOM said.

Iran, which shares a 900-kilometre (560-mile) border with Afghanistan, hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the world, including millions of Afghans who arrived over the past 40 years after fleeing conflict.

The spike in returns comes as Afghans have also been pressured to leave Pakistan in droves, with a campaign by Islamabad expelling more than 180,000 Afghans since April.

The influx across both borders threatens to strain Afghanistan’s already “fragile reception and reintegration systems”, according to the IOM, in a country still recovering from decades of conflict.

More than one million Afghans have returned from Pakistan since late 2023, when Islamabad launched the first phase of a plan to remove Afghans amid tensions with the Taliban authorities who swept to power in 2021, particularly over security concerns.

Many Afghans had lived in Pakistan for decades after fleeing successive wars and crises.

The Taliban authorities – still unrecognised by any other country – have consistently called for Afghans to be allowed a “dignified” return to Afghanistan.

The IOM on Tuesday again called for “all countries to immediately suspend the forced return of Afghans, regardless of their immigration status, until safe, voluntary, and dignified return conditions are in place”.