Over 1M Afghans deported from different countries last year

By Anadolu staff

KABUL (AA) – The interim Taliban government announced on Tuesday that over one million Afghan nationals were deported from various countries last year, with more than half of them coming from Pakistan, where an operation against "illegal immigrants" is still underway.

More than one million Afghan deportees have returned to their home country in 2023, Afghanistan's interim Deputy Minister for Refugees Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani told UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) officials at a meeting in Kabul, said a statement issued by ministry spokesman Abdul Muttalib Haqqani.

Haqqani urged UNHCR officials to separate immigration and political issues while continuing to provide aid to Afghanistan, as well as to give regular assistance to deportees, the statement said.

In late December, Afghan interim government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Anadolu that about 800,000 Afghans were sent back to the war-torn country by various countries, including Pakistan, Iran, Türkiye, and others.

- Most Afghans return from Pakistan

In November, relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan soured when Islamabad launched a crackdown on illegal foreigners, mostly Afghan refugees, and announced that they would be returned to their home countries.

Islamabad described "illegal foreign nationals," mainly Afghan refugees, as a "threat" to national security, and has already sent over half a million Afghans.

Islamabad has announced the eviction of over one million foreigners illegally living in the country, saying some of them are involved in "funding and facilitating" terrorist activities.

Pakistan has seen a surge in terrorist attacks since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in Aug. 2021.

Islamabad accuses Afghanistan's interim Taliban government of sheltering members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a conglomerate of several Pakistani militant groups that frequently carry out attacks in Pakistan. The charges that the Afghan Taliban have always denied.