Over 50,000 Afghan Migrants Return From Iran And Pakistan, Claims Taliban

Abdul Mutaleb Haqqani, the spokesperson for the Taliban's Ministry of Refugees, announced that more than 50,000 Afghan migrants have returned to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan in the last two weeks.

Haqqani detailed that 45,000 of these migrants came back from Iran, while the remaining 5,000 returned from Pakistan.

This announcement was made public on Wednesday through Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), now under the control of the Taliban.

The official highlighted that the Ministry of Refugees is offering assistance to the returnees at border crossings, including SIM cards, cash, and health services.

During a visit to the Torkham border crossing on Tuesday, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Taliban, emphasised that Afghan migrants should not be coerced into returning to Afghanistan amid the winter season.

Following the initiation of a deportation process for undocumented migrants by Pakistan in November 2023, reports from international organisations indicate that around half a million Afghan migrants have made their way back to Afghanistan from Pakistan within this timeframe.