Over two million Afghan migrants return home in past year
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) released a report stating that over the past year, 2.2 million Afghan migrants have returned to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan.
On Wednesday, November 13, USAID, quoting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), reported that these returnees arrived between August 15, 2023, and September 2024.
According to the report, 734,817 Afghan migrants returned from Pakistan alone.
USAID noted that of these returnees, 588,000 received assistance to help with their resettlement.
Previously, the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation had also reported that around 2 million Afghan migrants had returned from Iran and Pakistan in the past year, while approximately seven million Afghans remain in other countries.
The report comes amid an increasing trend of Afghan migrants being expelled from Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey, with hundreds of families being deported daily.
Recently, Iranian officials warned that by the end of this year, around 2 million undocumented Afghan migrants would be expelled from Iran.
The mass return and expulsion of Afghan migrants create significant challenges for Afghanistan, especially in terms of providing adequate support and resources to reintegrate these individuals.
This influx adds pressure on local communities, straining Afghanistan’s already limited infrastructure and resources.
The rising expulsions also highlight regional tensions and the complex relationship between Afghanistan and its neighboring countries.
The Afghan government and international organizations must collaborate to address these challenges and support the safe reintegration of returning migrants to prevent a humanitarian crisis within the country.
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