Nearly 1.2 million Afghans back home from Pakistan since September 2023: Report

Kabul, August 1 (IANS) Nearly 1.2 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan since September 2023, according to a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report. In the report, the UNHCR noted that many of the Afghans who have returned, face dire conditions and called for urgent aid to prevent a worsening humanitarian crisis.

Over 156,000 returnees, including 98,000 registered cardholders, have received humanitarian assistance since returning to Afghanistan. UNHCR noted that women and girl make up about half of those receiving aid while roughly 2.2 per cent of all returnees are people who are specially-abled, Afghanistan-based Khaama Press reported, citing the report which was released on Thursday.

The agency stated that more than 315,000 Afghans came back to Afghanistan in 2025 alone, including 51,000 who were forcibly deported by Pakistani authorities. Increasing political and security pressures in Pakistan pose a threat to the status of over two million Afghan refugees who have lived there for decades.

According to the report, many Afghan returnees face bleak conditions, lacking proper housing, jobs and access to essential services in Afghanistan. Aid agencies have called on Afghan authorities and the international community to increase support, warning that the wave of returnees could deepen humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan if assistance is not provided.

Earlier this month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned about rising spread of infectious diseases and poor sanitary conditions among Afghan migrants deported from neighbouring nations. WHO said that a surge in respiratory infections, diarrhea, skin conditions like scabies, and suspected Covid-19 cases is being witnessed among deported Afghan migrants.

The ground assessments at key border points — especially Islam Qala in Herat Province — show that upper respiratory infections are the most common health problems faced by deported Afghans, followed closely by diarrhea and dehydration, particularly among children and the elderly. Suspected cases of scabies and Covid-19 have also been reported among Afghan returnees.

In response, WHO has started emergency health screenings and mass vaccination campaigns in collaboration with local health authorities at Islam Qala and Spin Boldak border crossings. These initiatives have been launched to stop further outbreaks and provide critical care to vulnerable people. Nearly 29,000 people have been screened or vaccinated at major border points, including Islam Qala, Torkham and Spin Boldak. In addition, WHO mobile health teams have been deployed at reception centres and zero-point borders, carrying out daily health checks on hundreds of deported Afghans.

--IANS

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