Pakistan expelled 852 Afghan families, comprising 4,567 individuals, on Sunday, according to a statement released Monday by Afghanistan’s High Commission for Addressing Returnees Problems.
The commission confirmed that the deported families returned to Afghanistan through two major border crossings: Torkham in eastern Nangarhar Province and Spin Boldak in southern Kandahar Province.
At the Torkham border, Afghan authorities are providing the returnees with temporary shelter, food, water, medical assistance, and transportation to their home provinces.
The Pakistani government has announced plans to deport up to three million Afghans this year. An estimated seven million Afghan refugees—most of them undocumented—are currently living abroad, primarily in neighboring Pakistan and Iran.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s interim government has repeatedly urged Afghan nationals living abroad to return home and contribute to the country’s reconstruction efforts after decades of conflict.
