Over 1 million Afghans have been deported from Iran in the previous five weeks, making it one of the greatest forced expulsions in contemporary history. Meanwhile, approximately 1.3 million Afghans were also expelled from Pakistan.
In 2023, Iran and Pakistan initiated separate campaigns to deport foreigners who they said were living illegally. They imposed deadlines and threatened them with deportation if they did not leave. Both governments deny targeting Afghan refugees fleeing conflict, poverty, or Taliban authority.
The United Nations’ refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates that some 4 million Afghans reside in Iran, most of them undocumented migrants. Iranian media say there are up to 8 million Afghans in the country. Iranian authorities claim they will not stop until all undocumented Afghans are gone.
Enemies of the State
Iran announced in March that it will evict all undocumented Afghans, despite the fact that many had been living there for decades. The deportations have increased after the recent 12-day battle with Israel. The Iranian authorities alleged that Afghans spied for the enemy.
State media showed footage of an accused Afghan spy for Israel confessing to being paid $2,000 for supplying locations to another Afghan in Germany. “We have always tried to be good hosts, but national security comes first, and naturally, illegal nationals must return,” said Fatemeh Mohajerani, a government spokesman.
In early July, around 40,000 people were dumped at the border in a matter of hours. There were chaotic scenes as individuals waited for transport and processing in temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius. “Israel has more mercy than Iran!” exclaimed one man in Islam Qala, a border village.
Many Afghans have escaped the Taliban in recent years, while others have lived in Iran since the Soviet occupation in the 1980s or the first Taliban rule in the 1990s, only to have their lives disrupted in minutes, losing stores, homes, and everything they own.
Aid organizations are suffering in the face of large deportations. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), around 546,000 undocumented Afghans returned between June 1 and July 9.
“The unprecedented surge in repatriations hinders the ability of IOM and partners to provide aid,” said Jorge Galindo, an IOM spokesman. “We are reaching only 10 percent of those in need.”
The highest number of returns was on June 26, when 36,100 Afghans crossed the border in one day. According to the IOM, 99 percent of Afghan migrants who returned from Iran were unauthorized, and around 70 percent were forced deported. A rising concern is the increase in the number of families deported, which contrasts with past months when the majority of returnees were single young men.
Pakistan Also Sends Afghans Back
Iran is not the only country deporting Afghans in large numbers. Pakistan, which is home to about four million Afghans, has likewise requested that all undocumented Afghans leave, blaming them for an upsurge in crime and violent attacks. According to the IOM, approximately a million people were expelled last year, with an additional 323,581 this year, the majority of which occurred since April 1, when the government initiated a second round of round-ups.
As with Iran, some people have lived there since the Soviet invasion in 1979, and many more were born there. Following the Taliban takeover, approximately 700,000 people sought safety in Pakistan.
Pakistan has around 3.1 million Afghans, but just 1.3 million are legally registered, according to UNHCR. Undocumented Afghans are constantly at risk of deportation, incarceration, and exploitation.
In October 2023, Pakistan stated that it would return Afghans. The widespread crackdown on foreigners living in the country illegally has resulted in the exodus of around 1 million Afghans.
On February 5, 2025, the UN refugee and migration agencies, UNHCR and IOM, raised concern over Pakistan’s plan to initiate a new wave of mass deportations targeting Afghan nationals, including refugees, documented and undocumented migrants, and those awaiting transfer to Western nations.
The answer came after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved a proposal to relocate Afghans from Islamabad and Rawalpindi to designated camps before deportation. The UN agencies requested clarity on the plan’s timing and encouraged Pakistan to observe human rights standards, including due process for Afghan Citizen Card holders, who numbered over 800,000.
