Tens of Thousands Afghan Migrants Return from Iran Daily

DIDPress: As the number of Afghan migrants returning from Iran continues to rise, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative described their situation as “the human face of war’s consequences,” urging the international community to provide immediate and sustained support to manage this crisis.

“Behind me stands a massive crowd of people who have left Iran—individuals fleeing conflict. This is a painful manifestation of the war’s human toll,” said Arafat Jamal, the UNHCR representative in Kabul, during his visit to the Islam Qala border crossing in Herat province.

He added that many of these individuals had already been victims of Afghanistan’s decades-long wars but had managed to build relatively stable lives in Iran. However, economic and social pressures in Iran, coupled with a lack of legal documentation, have forced them to return.

The UN representative warned that Afghanistan, despite ongoing efforts, lacks the capacity and resources to absorb such a large number of returnees.

“Two-thirds of Afghanistan’s population lives below the poverty line, and the current government remains unrecognized by the international community. The return of these migrants places additional strain on an already fragile system,” he said.

According to local Taliban authorities in Herat, over 30,000 people cross into Afghanistan daily via the Islam Qala border alone. Many of them lacked legal residency documents in Iran and were compelled to leave due to economic hardship or forced deportations.

Arafat Jamal urged the international community to focus not only on immediate aid but also on long-term solutions for the resettlement and reintegration of these returnees into Afghan society.