Iran Deports 1.8 Million Afghan Migrants In Three Months, Says Taliban Official
Iran has deported at least 1.8 million Afghan migrants over the past three months, according to the Taliban-run Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation.
Iran has deported at least 1.8 million Afghan migrants over the past three months, according to the Taliban-run Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation.
The announcement comes amid growing concern over Afghanistan's capacity to absorb the mass return of its citizens.
Abdul Rahman Rashid, the Taliban's deputy minister for technical affairs at the ministry, made the remarks during a press conference on Wednesday, as part of the ministry’s annual performance briefing.
Rashid also reported that 184,459 Afghan nationals have been forcibly repatriated from Pakistan so far this year, and an additional 5,134 were deported from Türkiye.
Speaking at the Taliban’s media centre in Kabul, Rashid estimated that around six million Afghan migrants remain in host countries, while approximately 2.5 million people are internally displaced within Afghanistan.
He claimed the Taliban administration has established at least 38 residential settlements for returnees across 29 provinces. Surveys have reportedly been completed for 29 of these sites, with assessments still underway in the remaining nine.
Despite these claims, large-scale deportations continue. The Taliban’s High Commission for Addressing Migrant Issues reported that Iran is currently expelling nearly 10,000 Afghans each day.
At the same time, reports from Pakistan indicate that authorities have resumed the detention and deportation of Afghan migrants in parts of Islamabad.
International organisations have repeatedly warned that Afghanistan, under Taliban rule, lacks the infrastructure and resources to manage the reintegration of such vast numbers of returnees.
