File photo from Afghan migrants in Pakistan.
As the deportation of migrants by Pakistan continues, more than 2,000 individuals returned to Afghanistan on Saturday, Jan. 3, according to figures by the Taliban commission for refugees.
The commission said Pakistan expelled 2,010 Afghan migrants on Saturday. At the same time, 86 others were deported from Iran, with most of the returns described as forced.
The migrants returned to Afghanistan through the Torkham, Spin Boldak, Pul-e-Abresham and Islam Qala border crossings, the commission said.
Pakistan had also deported 1,447 Afghan migrants the previous day, through both forced and voluntary returns, according to the commission.
The United Nations has previously said that more than 2.6 million people, mostly from Iran and Pakistan, have returned to Afghanistan in 2025, warning that the influx is placing heavy pressure on the country’s fragile economy and basic services.
Pakistan has also recently stepped up arrests of Afghan migrants. Some migrants have previously told local media they faced mistreatment by Pakistani police.
International aid groups have repeatedly warned that many returnees arrive with little or no resources and face difficult conditions in Afghanistan, where weak infrastructure and limited services increase the risks of poverty, renewed displacement and a deepening humanitarian crisis under the Taliban.