• Over 200,000 Afghans have left Pakistan since the deportation drive began in April.
• Pakistan aims to evict more than 800,000 Afghans whose residency permits have been revoked.
• Iran has also intensified deportations, raising concerns over the capacity of Afghanistan to manage the influx.
• The UN has expressed alarm over the rapid return of Afghan families, asking to suspend forced returns until conditions are safe.
• Domestic security concerns in Pakistan are influencing its deportation policy amid rising insurgency threats.

Since the renewal of a deportation drive in April, more than 200,000 Afghans have left Pakistan, according to the interior ministry. This push is part of an effort to evict over 800,000 Afghan nationals whose residency permits have been canceled, many of whom have lived in Pakistan for decades. The numbers of departures included over 135,000 in April and 67,000 in May, with the first two days of June seeing more than 3,000 returnees, indicating a continuation of this urgent mass movement, according to Channel News Asia and India Times.

The ongoing campaign has been described as a response to increasing internal security concerns in Pakistan. Authorities frequently accuse Afghan nationals of being linked to terrorism and blame the Taliban for harboring militants in Pakistan. Last year, Pakistan recorded the highest number of deaths from terrorist attacks in a decade, driving public support for the expulsion of Afghan refugees as economic and security issues mount, according to Dawn.

In addition, Iran is also increasing deportations, affecting an estimated four million undocumented Afghans. The United Nations International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported that in May alone, 15,675 Afghan families were deported from Iran. They expressed concern over the rising trend of families being sent back rather than individuals, calling for all nations to halt forced returns until safe and dignified conditions can be guaranteed in Afghanistan, according to Channel News Asia, India Times, and Dawn.

As Afghanistan’s infrastructure struggles to manage the inflow, the issues surrounding these forced returns become increasingly pressing. Mohammad Wali, a farmer who has returned to Afghanistan, spoke about his difficult decision: “We left behind our orchards... If we stay, maybe one day we'll lose our dignity,” highlighting the personal impact of these policies amid broader regional tensions and humanitarian needs, according to India Times and Dawn.