Iran to deport "around two million undocumented Afghan migrants" amid regional repatriation push

Tehran [Iran], August 18 (ANI): Iran has announced plans to deport around two million undocumented Afghan migrants, saying the process will be carried out under legal procedures and with respect for human dignity, Khaama Press reported.
Iran's Interior Minister, Eskandar Momeni, said on Monday that a new program is underway to return Afghan nationals who do not possess legal documents. "A new program is underway to return around two million undocumented Afghan nationals to their country with dignity and respect," Momeni told reporters in Mashhad, according to Khaama Press.
He said the first phase will focus on undocumented Afghans who entered Iran without proper legal permits. Stressing that managing such a large community requires cooperation, Momeni noted, "More than six million Afghans currently live in Iran, stressing that managing such a large population requires serious national and international cooperation," as quoted by Khaama Press.
The minister underlined that the move should not be misinterpreted as targeting immigrants. "The initiative should not be seen as anti-immigrant, explaining that every country has its own laws and regulations concerning foreign nationals," he said.
According to Momeni, the National Migration Organization will oversee the repatriation process. "The National Migration Organization will oversee the process, ensuring that all returns are carried out through legal procedures and with respect for human dignity," he said, Khaama Press reported.
He further stated that most Afghan nationals are expected to leave via the Khorasan Razavi border, a long-standing crossing point between the two countries.
The development comes as Pakistan is also preparing to begin its own repatriation campaign for Afghan migrants starting in September, adding to regional pressure on Afghan refugees. Humanitarian groups have warned that mass deportations from both Iran and Pakistan could trigger a severe crisis, as returnees face poverty, unemployment, and restrictions under Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
This pushback has already begun on the ground. Tolo News reported that on August 11, around 300 families and 350 prisoners were forcibly deported through the Torkham crossing in a single day. Officials in Nangarhar said the deportees were transferred to their home areas after receiving essential assistance.
Bakht Jamal Gohar, head of migrant transportation in Torkham, said: "In the past 24 hours, 300 families have been returned, and in addition, the Pakistani side has handed over 350 prisoners to us, among whom 20 families of deportees were included and even possessed legal documents. These migrants and deportees have been transferred to their respective areas by the transportation committee."
At the same time, some of the newly deported individuals have called on the Islamic Emirate and international aid organizations to provide greater support, according to Tolo News.
Ejazul Haq, deported from Pakistan, said: "All our belongings were left behind. I only brought one mattress and a bed with me."
Sharbat Khan, another deportee, said: "After forty years, we returned to our homeland. We are happy, but in addition to aid, we also want land."
Tolo News reported that Abdullah, a 50-year-old resident of Nari district in Kunar, was forcibly returned to Afghanistan after three decades in Pakistan. He said: "I was working as a laborer when they suddenly came, arrested me, and deported me. It has been eight days since I was deported. Three of my children are disabled and the other three are healthy, but yesterday they too were deported after me."
Sharifullah, Abdullah's son, told Tolo News: "We had no news of our father. Sometimes we went to one police station, sometimes to another, until later we learned that our father had been deported."
According to the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations, 747 families were forcibly returned from Pakistan and Iran to Afghanistan, Tolo News reported. (ANI)