Taliban Slams Forced Repatriation of Afghan Refugees by Neighbors

The Taliban government in Afghanistan has strongly criticized neighboring countries for the mass expulsion of Afghan refugees in recent months. According to the Taliban's deputy minister for refugees and repatriation, Abdul Rahman Rashid, the scale and manner in which Afghans have been forced to return to their homeland is unprecedented in the country's history.

Iran and Pakistan, which host significant numbers of Afghan refugees, have set deadlines and threatened them with arrest or deportation if they do not leave the countries. In the past three months alone, nearly 1.8 million Afghans were forcibly returned from Iran. Additionally, 184,459 Afghans were sent back from Pakistan, and over 5,000 were deported from Turkey since the beginning of this year. The Taliban government has described these mass expulsions as a "serious violation of international norms, humanitarian principles, and Islamic values."

The refugee crisis in Afghanistan has been further exacerbated by natural disasters, with the ministry reporting that some 13,500 families have been internally displaced due to droughts, floods, and storms. The total number of internally displaced families in the country has now reached nearly 2.5 million. The Taliban government plans to hold meetings with host countries to find sustainable solutions through dialogue and cooperation, as humanitarian agencies warn that the scale and pace of returning Afghans is overwhelming the country's already fragile support systems.