More than 500,000 Afghans have left Pakistan in four months. The country issued an ultimatum last November for the return of undocumented immigrants to their country, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced on Monday.
Some 500,200 Afghans returned home between September 15 and January 13, according to the IOM, the vast majority via the Torkham and Spin Boldak border posts.
Islamabad had set an ultimatum of November 1 for the departure of 1.7 million undocumented Afghan refugees.
The majority of returning Afghans crossed the border before November 1, fearing arrest in Pakistan.
“Since the initial peak around November 1, the number of individuals crossing the border has declined steadily, but remains higher than before September 15,” writes the IOM.
Between January 1 and 13, around 10,000 Afghans returned to their country, specifies the IOM.
Some of the Afghans who crossed the border have lived decades, or even their entire lives, in Pakistan.
Millions of Afghans have sought refuge in Pakistan in recent decades, fleeing conflicts.
Among them, some 600,000 Afghans had left their country due to the return to power in Kabul in August 2021 of the Taliban, who imposed an ultra-rigorous interpretation of Islamic law.
Help for migrants
Upon arrival in Afghanistan, migrants, most often very destitute, receive modest assistance from the government and UN agencies.
But they have to start their lives from scratch in a country with an anemic economy, a high unemployment rate, and which is facing a serious humanitarian crisis that the winter will make even worse.
” Authorities [afghanes] responded to the influx of large numbers of Afghans with professionalism,” said the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Manua) in a report published on Monday.
This was achieved “despite a lack of resources [de l’État]both at border crossings and in the districts and provinces of destination of new arrivals.”
Returning Afghans received, after their registration when crossing the border, sums generally allowing a family to live for one month, as well as money for their transport to the province of their choice, noted AFP in Torkham.
The UN, however, fears that “some Afghans forced to return may be exposed to the risk of persecution, arbitrary detention and/or torture or ill-treatment”.
Manua refers in particular to “media employees, civil society activists, women human rights lawyers, former government officials or former members of the armed or security forces”.