Kabul: Following the recent global crises and changing geopolitical dynamics, the vast majority of countries have swiftly reoriented their policies to align with their national priorities, placing them above all concerns. This turn could not have come at a worse time for Afghan refugees abroad. Following decades of unremitting conflict, political instability, and prolonged downturn in the economy, countless Afghans were forced to leave their homes, seeking safety elsewhere.
According to Global Voices, it has scattered them from the farmland of their youth to the shores of neighboring Pakistan, Iran, distant countries in Europe, the Americas, and beyond. Despite battling various life-threatening situations, they haven't entered the safe and stable future they had hoped for.
Following the recent Iranian-Israeli conflict, Iran has unleashed a sweeping crackdown on Afghan refugees and rolled out a repressive drive to deport a vast number of Afghan refugees. This year alone, over 1.5 million have been purged, nearly 600,000 just in the past two months. As per reports, the Iranian authorities plan to deport up to four million Afghans by the end of 2025.
The deportations are taking place daily, often reaching a mammoth amount of 50,000 people in a single day. Refugees are seized without warning, forcibly removed from their homes and workplaces, denied their belongings and documents, and dragged to the border with no due process. At crossings like Islam Qala, deportees, including women, children, and the elderly, are abandoned in the desert, where the temperature exceeds 50°C (122°F), without shelter, water, or medical care. Aid workers report soaring cases of dehydration, disease, and psychological trauma, as a humanitarian crisis unfolds in silence.
Pakistan has also increased the deportations of Afghan refugees since April 2025. Over 1 million Afghans have been expelled from Pakistan. In just two weeks, nearly 60,000 were sent through the Torkham and Spin Boldak crossing points. Among them are many women, children, and individuals with valid Afghan citizen cards that allow them to reside legally in Pakistan. The deportations have caused family separations, police brutality, and abuse, with human rights groups terming it a clear violation of the principle of non-refoulement.
Moreover, Tajikistan has also forcibly deported some Afghan refugees since mid-July 2025, including those waiting to be resettled in a third state. After the collapse of the democratic government in Afghanistan, thousands of Afghans were evacuated by the US to temporary facilities in the UAE and Qatar, with the expectation that their documents would be processed for resettlement in the US. However, in May, the Trump administration unveiled a plan to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS), raising uncertainty for Afghans stranded abroad in a third country, waiting for the processing of their documents.
In addition, in July, Germany and five other European Union (EU) nations - France, Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Denmark - agreed to toughen asylum laws and restart deportations, including to Afghanistan. This includes limiting family reunions and trying to establish asylum procedures in non-EU states. Moreover, under a program with Taliban coordination, Germany has recently returned 81 Afghans, potentially indicating future diplomatic ties for more returns, which the Taliban could use to bolster their political standing.
To compound the crisis, the UK's Ministry of Defence accidentally leaked an email that placed the lives of more than 250 Afghan translators in danger of Taliban reprisals. Despite the seriousness of this breach and the UK's two-decades-long presence in Afghanistan, thousands of Afghan partners remain stranded, still awaiting resettlement through programs like the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP).
These actions amount to collective expulsion, breaching Article 13 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and worsen Afghanistan's humanitarian and socio-economic crisis by returning people to conditions of extreme poverty, insecurity, and lack of support. Afghanistan now faces an even greater threat in the form of the climate crisis, marked by severe droughts, vanished and limited water resources, and extreme weather, forcing Afghans to leave their homeland for survival.
Tackling the dilemma of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers requires swift and coordinated action on multiple fronts. Governments must reduce bureaucratic delays, expedite resettlement programs, and uphold their commitments to meet the relocation targets. Involved countries should agree on a multilateral approach to share the responsibility of resettling Afghans. The time has come to decide whether to support those in need or to turn them away.