The forced return of Afghan refugees shows no sign of slowing. Taliban administration spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said on Saturday that 163 migrant families, comprising 678 people, were forcibly returned to Afghanistan on Friday, AtlasPress reported.
Routes of the forced return of Afghan refugees
According to the statement, 37 families (169 people) entered through Torkham, 99 families (384 people) through the Pul-e-Abrisham route in Nimroz province, 19 families through Spin Boldak in Kandahar, and eight families (81 people) through the Islam Qala crossing in Herat.
A burden of hundreds of thousands
Pajhwok Afghan News reported that a UNHCR report published on Oct. 8 found 581,600 Afghans returned from Iran between Jan. 1 and Oct. 3, 2026, of whom 492,300, or 85 percent, were forcibly deported. More than 1.9 million returned or were deported in 2025.
The agency said 67 percent of returning heads of household had no formal education and 50 percent lacked job skills, while the scale of returns has put heavy pressure on housing, jobs and basic services. UNHCR called for flexible and sustained international support.
Sources: AtlasPress, Pajhwok Afghan News
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