UN Warns Support For Deported Afghan Migrants Becoming Increasingly Difficult

Hundreds of users, including activists, have taken to social media platforms in recent weeks, urging a boycott under the hashtag “Boycotting Iranian Goods Is a National Demand,” countering the popular Iranian slogan “Expelling Afghan Migrants Is a National Demand.”

Afghanistan is one of the largest importers of Iranian goods.

Natiq Malekzada, an Afghan activist based in London, wrote on X on Sunday: “We were supposed to meet friends for lunch in London. When I arrived at the location, I saw it was an Iranian restaurant. I made everyone leave.”

He added: “I don’t understand why we have no pride. An Iranian extremist slaps our compatriots, and we still go to their restaurants just because the food is tasty.”

Niloufar Yousefi, another user, wrote using the hashtag “Boycott Iranian Goods for the Oppression of Refugees” that Afghans should not support a regime that humiliates, tortures, and discriminates against Afghan migrants by purchasing its products.

“Until this injustice ends, we will raise our voices through boycotts,” she added, urging Afghan merchants not to import Iranian goods.

Habiba Salehi wrote that boycotting Iranian goods and cutting off water from the Helmand River to Iran would be a justified response to the repeated mistreatment and systemic humiliation of Afghan refugees by the Iranian state. She called the boycott a “defence of national dignity” and encouraged more Afghans to join the campaign.

Ali Reza Hashemi, a doctor in Herat, said in protest that he would stop prescribing Iranian medicines and instead recommend domestic alternatives.

Nasim Kamgar shared a video showing a young Afghan child describing mistreatment by Iranian authorities. “This is not our fate,” he wrote. “We must preserve this in our collective memory, that when we excluded each other, closed schools, committed corruption, and divided by ethnicity, we were all eventually humiliated and had our dignity crushed.”

Using the hashtag “Boycotting Iranian Goods Is a National Demand,” he added that “in difficult days, Afghans only have each other.”

How Much Does Afghanistan Import from Iran?

Afghan activists are calling for a boycott despite Afghanistan being one of the largest buyers of Iranian goods.

The Tehran Times reported on July 11, that in the first three months of the current Iranian year (starting March 2025), Iran exported $520 million worth of non-oil goods to Afghanistan, making Afghanistan Iran’s fifth-largest export market.

Previously, Hossein Roustaei, Iran’s commercial attaché in Kabul, announced that Iran exported over $3.14 billion in non-oil goods to Afghanistan in 2024.

By contrast, Tasnim News Agency quoted an Iranian official in January stating that Afghanistan exported only $54 million worth of goods to Iran in the same year.

This boycott campaign follows growing anger in Afghanistan over Iran’s treatment of Afghan migrants. Following Iran’s ceasefire with Israel, mass deportations of Afghans resumed with increasing intensity. The Taliban reported that more than half a million Afghan migrants were expelled from Iran within 19 days, with tens of thousands returning daily via the Islam Qala border crossing.

Despite Iranian authorities insisting they are only expelling undocumented migrants, Afghan returnees say even those with valid visas and residency documents have been forcibly removed. In some cases, Iranian officers reportedly tore up Afghan migrants' passports and identity papers.

In a statement shared Monday on social media, Karzai said he met with Ambassador Takayoshi Kuromiya and thanked Japan for its continued support to Afghanistan, particularly in the health and education sectors.

Karzai described Japan as a “historic friend” of Afghanistan and praised its longstanding contributions to the country’s development.

The former president, who has occasionally criticised Taliban policies in indirect terms, again underscored the importance of inclusive governance, girls’ education, and unity among all ethnic groups.

In a statement issued Monday, July 15, the rights organisation released a list of 29 human rights wins recorded in the first half of 2025 across countries including Afghanistan, Chile, Cameroon, Türkiye, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and Greece.

Topping the list was the ICC’s arrest warrants for Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the group's chief justice. The two are accused of crimes against humanity.

“These are the first public arrest warrants sought by the ICC in Afghanistan since the country became a member of the court in 2003,” Amnesty International said in the statement.

Despite the ongoing global challenges marked by “fear, division and hatred,” Amnesty noted that activists around the world continued to fight for justice and preserve hope.

The report also highlighted other key developments, including the release of several human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia, US sanctions on companies supplying weapons to Sudan, and new measures to combat violence against women in Algeria.

The ICC announced on July 8 that it had issued arrest warrants for Akhundzada and Haqqani. The move was welcomed by Western governments, Afghan women’s rights activists, and international human rights groups.

The Taliban, however, rejected the court’s legitimacy, stating they do not recognise the ICC and that its decisions would not affect their policies or behaviour.

Nader YarAhmadi, Director General of the Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs at Iran’s Ministry of Interior, said on Monday that Afghan nationals who have not received their housing deposit payments may follow up their claims via the Afghan embassy or consular offices in Iran.

“The Islamic Republic is prepared to help Afghan migrants recover their housing deposits,” YarAhmadi said, as quoted by the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA).

He added that legal and support services are available in several provinces, where welfare offices have been set up to resolve financial disputes between migrants and landlords.

Zahra Behrouz Azar, Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, also stated that migrants may submit documents even after deportation. “Cases will be reviewed and followed up by the Legal Affairs Office for Foreign Nationals,” she said.

In recent weeks, many Afghan migrants deported from Iran have reported that their landlords or employers failed to return their wages or security deposits. Rights groups and humanitarian organisations have raised concerns over the treatment of Afghan migrants, particularly amid the surge in deportations.

State-run National Television, under Taliban control, reported Sunday that the meeting was held on the order of Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and chaired by Noor Mohammad Saqib, the Minister of Hajj and Religious Affairs.

Officials from the Ministries of Higher Education, Education, Information and Culture, and Hajj and Religious Affairs attended the meeting. According to the report, the ministries have been instructed to assess books collected from libraries, schools, and public institutions and to launch public awareness campaigns warning against such materials.

Saqib said the review process will be led by religious scholars and conducted “in accordance with Sharia principles.” A joint committee is expected to develop official guidelines to facilitate the effort.

Since retaking power in August 2021, the Taliban have intensified censorship efforts, banning hundreds of titles they view as incompatible with their ideology. The Ministry of Information and Culture has previously removed books from schools, bookstores, and libraries that it labelled as promoting un-Islamic or anti-Taliban ideas.

The Taliban define “deviant” books as those that oppose or fail to support their views. A special book review commission established by the group has halted the publication and distribution of hundreds of titles, and banned the sale or reprinting of at least 100 books.