Iran, Pakistan Deport Afghans Out of Fear of Nation’s Progress, Says Taliban Minister

The Taliban’s Minister of Public Health, Noor Jalal Jalali, has claimed that the forced deportation of Afghan migrants from Iran and Pakistan reflects those countries’ fear of Afghanistan’s progress.

Speaking at the opening of a new terminal in the Pul-e-Charkhi area of Kabul on Saturday, Jalali criticised the treatment of Afghan migrants abroad. He alleged that both Pakistan and Iran have harassed Afghans, confiscated their property, and expelled them unfairly.

“Afghans have earned their property and assets in these countries through hard work,” he said. “But now their belongings are being taken away and they are being forcibly expelled.”

Jalali called on Afghan migrants to return and invest in the country’s reconstruction. He urged them to contribute to Afghanistan’s development rather than endure abuse abroad.

According to Taliban-controlled Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), Jalali accused Pakistan in particular of being unable to accept Afghanistan’s progress and of mistreating migrants out of hostility.

Both Iran and Pakistan have hosted millions of Afghan refugees for decades. However, in recent months they have stepped up arrests and deportations, creating increasingly difficult conditions for Afghan nationals.

Pakistan has already expelled over 800,000 Afghans and plans to deport up to three million by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that over 1.2 million Afghans returned from Iran in 2024, with 67 percent of them forcibly deported.

Nader Yarahmadi, head of Iran’s Ministry of Interior’s Centre for Foreign Nationals and Migrants Affairs, said that more than three million Afghans have been deported from Iran over the past three years.