KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Tajik media have reported that following the killing of a woman in the Sughd province of the country and the arrest of an Afghan citizen on suspicion of the murder, around 250 Afghan migrants have been forcibly deported from the province.
According to Asia-Plus News, these migrants were detained and deported on Saturday (May 4) from the “Mehrbod” area of Jabbar Rasulov district in Sughd province.
Residents of Jabbar Rasulov district told Asia-Plus that on May 4, unidentified individuals removed all Afghan asylum seekers from the area using multiple vehicles, and locals were unable to determine who they were or where the migrants were taken.
Roza Hasanova, a resident of the “Jamoat Dehmo” village in Jabbar Rasulov district, said that she had lived alongside an Afghan man for six years and worked with him in a car repair shop.
She said they had a close relationship, and that all the Afghan residents were rounded up and taken away. She added that they had never experienced any problems with their Afghan neighbors and hoped they are safe wherever they are now.
Another resident of Jabbar Rasulov district mentioned an Afghan migrant named “Mahmood,” who worked in the local culture department but left the area on the afternoon of May 4 along with his sick wife and family.
He said that everyone was put into around 15 to 17 trucks and taken away, adding that their destination and the reason for their removal remain unknown.
Tajikistan police have confirmed that on April 30 of the current year, a Tajik woman was killed in Sughd province.
Following the killing, the Ministry of Interior of Tajikistan confirmed the arrest of an Afghan citizen and urged Afghan nationals to “respect the laws and customs” of the country and to legalize their residence.
Asia-Plus wrote that its attempts to obtain clarification from Tajikistan’s security institutions regarding the deportation of Afghan migrants were unsuccessful.
The outlet added that the spokesperson for Tajikistan’s Ministry of Interior stated that they had not detained Afghan migrants, but added that in all countries, if migrants violate domestic laws, they are subject to punishment.
According to the report, the office of the Ministry of Interior in Sughd province also stated that “the deportation of foreign nationals is not within their responsibility” and that they have no information about the fate of Afghan asylum seekers.
Meanwhile, some of the deported individuals told media after returning to Afghanistan that they were forcibly expelled and were not even allowed to collect their belongings.
Following the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, a number of Afghan citizens migrated to Tajikistan. According to some reports, as of July 2025, around 9,000 Afghan migrants were living in Tajikistan.
Taliban officials and the Afghan embassy in Dushanbe, which is under the control of diplomats from the previous government, have not yet commented on the deportation of Afghan migrants from Sughd province.
This situation highlights the growing vulnerability of Afghan migrants in the region, where legal uncertainty, security concerns, and political tensions continue to expose them to the risk of detention, deportation, and limited protection of their basic rights.