Kabul: Around 7,061 Afghan refugees were forcibly deported to Afghanistan from Pakistan and Iran on Thursday, according to Afghanistan’s High Commission for Addressing Refugee Affairs. In a daily operational report shared on X, Afghanistan’s Deputy Spokesperson Mullah Hamdullah Fitrat stated that 1,353 Afghan families, comprising 7,061 people returned from Iran and Pakistan on Thursday, Afghanistan-based Pajhwok Afghan News reported on Friday.
Fitrat stated that Afghan refugees returned to Afghanistan through Spin Boldak in Kandahar, Bahramcha in Helmand, Islam Qala in Herat, Pul-i-Abresham in Nimroz and Torkham in Nangarhar provinces. He further said that assistance was given to 1,436 families that returned to Afghanistan while 3,448 returnee families, comprising 27,223 people were taken to their respective areas. Mullah Hamdullah Fitrat stated that telecommunication companies distributed 1,338 SIM cards to the refugees. As many as 10,637 Afghan refugees were forcibly deported from Iran and Pakistan on Wednesday.
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Last month, Afghan refugees voiced concerns over escalating challenges and growing fear amid the ongoing crackdown in Pakistan. They alleged that the Pakistani police have made announcements in some mosques warning that anyone assisting the refugees, including by renting homes or shops in Pakistan, would be considered a criminal by the government. “A large number of Afghan refugees, including children, women, and the elderly, have been held in Pakistani detention centres for over 15 days, living in extremely harsh conditions,” Afghanistan’s leading media outlet TOLO News quoted Atiqullah Mansoor, an Afghan refugee in Pakistan, as saying.
Meanwhile, several other refugees stated that Pakistani government along with demolishing shelters have stepped up arrests and forced deportations. They urged the Pakistani government to suspend the demolition of their homes and allow them to stay in Pakistan, at least through the winter. “Winter has already started. Many of the remaining homes of Afghan refugees here have been demolished.
We urge the Pakistani government to stop destroying the rest of the homes, because otherwise, refugees will be left without shelter and with nowhere to go. On top of that, the government has warned locals not to rent homes to Afghan refugees, or they will face legal consequences,” said another Afghan refugee in Pakistan.