Iran is pursuing its mass deportation of Afghan migrants back across the border, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
“The Islam Qala border crossing sees around 3,000 people crossing daily from Iran,” NRC’s secretary general Jan Egeland said, having recently visited the border town.
These are mainly people who have been deported or expelled, he said.
“These people are arriving in Afghanistan in the middle of a harsh winter and a humanitarian crisis affecting 22.9 million people who already desperately need aid,” Egeland said.
Iranian authorities announced in 2024 that they intend to deport around two million foreigners who do not hold valid residency permits by the end of March 2025.
Political debates have been raging in Iran for months over the high number of Afghan refugees who fled after the Taliban came to power three years ago.
According to the NRC, Pakistan has already deported 800,000 Afghans.
Iran and Pakistan have received very little support from the rest of the world, inspite being among the countries hosting the most refugees over the last generation, Egeland said.
The UN refugee agency estimates that almost 4.5 million Afghans are living in Iran, many without legal residency permits, though Iranian media cite much higher numbers of six million or eight million.
Thousands cross into Iran illegally each year, fleeing ongoing conflicts, extreme poverty and high unemployment.
The 900-kilometre-long border between the countries makes carrying out border checks complicated.
Iran is currently building a guarded border wall in the north-east of the country. (dpa/NAN)
