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STORY: UNHCR / AFGHANS FORCED RETURN
TRT: 01:46
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR ON SCREEN
LANGUAGES: NATS
DATELINE: 20-21 APRIL 2025, TORKHAM BORDER AND ENCASHMENT CENTRE, AFGHANISTAN
1. Various shots, Afghans arriving at Torkham border
2. Various shots, support at UNHCR centre
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), an even deeper humanitarian crisis is looming in Afghanistan as tens of thousands of Afghans are being forced to return from neighbouring countries.
Tens of thousands of Afghans have been returning through the Torkham border on the frontier between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the month of April.
Many were compelled to return, and are arriving exhausted, worried and uncertain about the future.
Vulnerable groups, including women and girls, and ethnic and religious minority groups, human rights activists, journalists and others could be at risk upon return. UNHCR and partners are on the ground to meet their immediate needs.
Since 2023, more than 3.4 million Afghans have returned or been deported from Pakistan and Iran, including over 1.5 million in 2024 alone.
So far in April 2025, more than 251,000 Afghans have returned from the two countries, including over 96,000 who were deported.
Such mass returns have strained the absorption capacity of many provinces in Afghanistan and exacerbated the risks of further internal displacement, new displacements to Iran and Pakistan, and onward movements towards Europe.
UNHCR is working with partners on the ground providing emergency relief including protection and life-saving cash assistance.
