The rate of mass repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan and Iran has increased significantly. According to the statistics provided by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), about 232,500 Afghans returned to Afghanistan in 2026. As of May 17 2026, the latest UNHCR Weekly Dashboard shows that there were 146,206 returnees from Pakistan and 86,253 returnees from Iran during 2026. In an update posted on 21 May 2026, the UNHCR noted that the situation in Afghanistan was still unstable in April. Returnees have experienced difficulties because of cross-border tension, floods, and restrictions on movement that put enormous pressure on the reception facilities in some of the main entry points to Afghanistan, for example, Islam Qala and Spin Boldak.

There have been reports of increased cases of brutal raids, unlawful arrests, and forcible deportations since the resumption of hostilities along the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan, which began in October 2025. “Pakistani authorities are spreading fear among Afghan refugees instead of treating them as people in need of protection,”  Fereshta Abbasi, a Human Rights Watch researcher on Afghanistan, said in a statement from 21 April. She added that because of “abusive police practices are forcing people to forgo food and health care while mass deportations are returning refugees to possible persecution and worse in Afghanistan.” Amnesty International states that about 60% of those being deported include mostly women and children, who face greater danger due to Taliban governance.

It should be noted that Pakistan still shelters around 1.75 million refugees from Afghanistan while Iran shelters 1.65 million people in need of international protection. At least 76 civilians were killed and 213 others were injured in combat that occurred during that period; most casualties resulted from cross-border artillery shelling.

The ongoing course of forced returns is completely in contradiction with the global concept of non-refoulement that forbids sending refugees back to areas where they would be threatened with persecution. Blaming and punishing migrants for the political tensions existing in the host states will do nothing to tackle the very roots of migration problems; rather, this approach will only shift the blame and burden to those who cannot afford to cope with it. Afghan nationals returning back into their homeland are met with circumstances described by the United Nations as a humanitarian crisis situation: women and girls have extremely strict limitations in their rights, there are difficulties concerning food, medical treatment, and education, as well as an imminent threat of future relocation.

This wave of returns has its roots from changes made in the wake of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021. In October 2023, the Pakistani government implemented its Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Program, starting with Afghans without documentation. This was then expanded to include Afghan Citizen Card holders on March 7, 2025, who were expected to depart by 31 March, or else be deported from Pakistan. Returns intensified further after October 2025 following violent conflicts at the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, leading to further raids and deportations. Likewise, the Iranian authorities have been moving down a similar path: starting on March 12, 2025, Tehran has started reversing the temporary protection regime introduced in 2022 to register 2.6 million Afghans in Iran. Protection regimes are  being reversed before replacements could be created.

UNHCR has been reaching out throughout the region and making a case for receiving $454.2 million through an emergency appeal in order to aid and protect those forcibly displaced in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Central Asia in 2026, yet, as of late February, only 15% had been received thus far. UNHCR has also stressed the need for protecting civilians, among them refugees and returnees, pointing out that large-scale and sudden returns greatly increase protection requirements and lead to instability in the broader region. The Inter-Agency Refugee Response Plan for March to May 2026 is the most urgent and concerted plan to provide humanitarian assistance. But for all of the families now being received at reception centers along the borders, where some do not even have the necessary documents or connections to integrate back home, the problem remains: Can international intervention go beyond the level of emergency assistance to address why so many are compelled to flee in the first place?