Pakistan Intensifies Deportation of Afghan Migrants; Hundreds of Families Return Daily via Torkham

With the intensification of arrests and deportations of Afghan migrants in Pakistan, between 700 and 800 families are entering the country daily through the Torkham crossing; many of these families have returned without assets or sources of income.

Some recently returned migrants in Nangarhar report that Pakistani police have conducted nighttime raids on migrants’ homes in recent weeks, detaining them without giving them the chance to gather their belongings or settle their affairs. One returnee said that his business in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has collapsed and that he has not been able to find work within Afghanistan either. He added that he faced significant financial difficulties even to transport his family, noting that the cost of moving from Peshawar to the Amari camp has risen to an unprecedented level.

Meanwhile, officials from the Nangarhar Refugees Affairs Directorate claim that the Taliban administration has accelerated the resettlement process and distribution of aid. Abdul Manan Gharibmal, the financial and administrative head of the directorate, stated that cash assistance is being provided to returnees, and the process of allocating residential plots in the districts of Rodat, Khogyani, and Behsud at the Qasimabad Khanki township is underway.

These statements come as a new wave of forced deportations from Pakistan has surged over the past week and a half, with thousands entering Nangarhar solely via the Torkham route; a situation that has raised concerns about the capacity to absorb and support these families.