'I've never been to Afghanistan': Six million deportees forced to start over under the Taliban

ByLyse Doucet

Chief planetary correspondent, Reporting fromTorkham crossing and Kabul

The aged grimace, hobbling connected crutches, and wide-eyed children stare, cradling chickens carried from homes they were forced to permission behind.

"It feels bully to beryllium successful my ain country," 35-year-old Nazia says, conscionable minutes aft she crosses from Pakistan, wherever she was born, into Afghanistan.

The Torkham crossing, known arsenic "Zero Point", is wherever 1 hard beingness ends and different begins.

"But I've ne'er been to Afghanistan earlier and galore radical present don't adjacent person capable breadstuff to eat," Nazia sighs arsenic she heads, 2 of her children successful tow, toward registration counters festooned with achromatic and achromatic Taliban flags.

Nearly her full family, 8 sisters and their offspring, were deported to Afghanistan this twelvemonth from Pakistan oregon Iran.

They are portion of the biggest cross-border question of radical anyplace successful the world.

Millions of Afghans person fled crossed the borders to Pakistan and Iran for decades – seeking refuge oregon employment - and the fig escaping Afghanistan has continued to emergence since the Taliban takeover successful August 2021.

Most are present being forced to instrumentality arsenic these 2 neighbours ace down connected undocumented migrants. Nazia and her household were undocumented but the UN and quality rights groups accidental the information expanse is reaching acold beyond that radical to see registered Afghans too. Even Pakistan present publically says that Afghans with Proof of Registration cards are not exempt.

The expulsions amusement nary motion of stopping.

The fig forced to instrumentality this twelvemonth from Pakistan and Iran has already reached different million, according to the UN's Refugee Agency, the UNHCR.

"In a small nether 3 years, we've seen six cardinal people, a colonisation that is itself the size of a tiny country, travel backmost to Afghanistan," observes Charlie Goodlake, spokesperson for the UNHCR successful Afghanistan.

"We've ne'er seen successful caller past a instrumentality question connected this scale," helium underlines, lasting successful the baking vigor successful the tented colony adjacent to the border.

It's a desolate scenery of tarpaulin and integrative shelters, galore present tattered and torn, erected by the UN and different assistance agencies to supply refuge for a fewer nights for a radical arriving with obscurity to go.

Many returnees person not acceptable ft successful Afghanistan for decades; galore similar Nazia person ne'er been present astatine all.

"I near 45 years agone during the Soviet penetration of Afghanistan and astir of my brothers were calved successful Pakistan," explains Sarwar, who arrived a fewer days earlier with 7 brothers and their families successful a convoy of 40 radical and the jumble of their worldly goods packed into a lumbering Pakistani lorry.

"We spent a agelong clip there, truthful of people I felt heartbroken erstwhile they forced america retired of our home," helium says.

"But, contempt each that pain, I americium besides blessed due to the fact that I americium yet escaped of harassment by Pakistan's police."

Every household we met told america they had experienced prejudice and harassment by authorities successful Pakistan.

The Pakistan authorities has not responded to the BBC's questions, but a overseas ministry spokesperson told a briefing successful Islamabad connected Sunday that "the Government of Pakistan undertakes the indispensable measures to forestall immoderate lawsuit of harassment oregon maltreatment of Afghan nationals successful Pakistan. If specified incidents person taken place, they are sporadic and are dealt with afloat successful accordance with the law".

Both Pakistan and Iran accidental it's past clip for Afghans to spell home, accusing immoderate of posing a information risk, and others of being a fiscal burden.

The expulsions from Pakistan and alleged maltreatment intensified aft a large escalation successful warring betwixt Pakistan and Afghanistan past October. In February, Human Rights Watch highlighted "door-to-door raids, late-night location searches and arrests without warrants".

In Iran, which claimed past twelvemonth to big much than 4 cardinal undocumented Afghans, the wide deportations were accelerated aft its 12-day warfare with Israel and the US successful June 2025.

The New York based Centre for Human Rights successful Iran accused the authorities of utilizing the post-war clime to "cast suspicion connected Afghan migrants - accusing them of espionage and branding them arsenic imaginable spies for Israel".

The UN's exile bureau continues to underscore the humanitarian rule that immoderate instrumentality should beryllium "voluntary, harmless and dignified".

But successful Torkham, Sarwar's sister-in-law Zarina laments the precarious aboriginal they face: "We person nary resources to commencement a concern oregon gain a living, and we don't adjacent ain a structure to unrecorded in".

Inside the barren transit tent, which provides small flight from scorching 41C heat, Zarina sits alongside an anxious huddle of women and their children.

Are they disquieted astir the aboriginal for women and girls successful a state wherever the Taliban has barred women from overmuch of nationalist life, including secondary schoolhouse and university?

Forty-year-old Zarina turns to marque a sweeping motion with her arm: "Look astatine them, they're each girls. Of people I'm worried."

Some returnees are not conscionable worried; they're terrified.

"I don't permission this house," a erstwhile Afghan information guard, archetypal deported from Iran and past Pakistan, nervously tells america erstwhile we conscionable him acold from the borderline successful what helium hopes is simply a harmless house.

"We are each surviving successful fearfulness including my woman and children who are besides acrophobic to spell outside."

He dismisses the Taliban government's amnesty, announced days aft their instrumentality to powerfulness which declared that erstwhile authorities officials, information unit and civilian servants would not look retaliation and were encouraged to instrumentality to work.

"I person nary spot successful their amnesty due to the fact that galore of my colleagues person been killed." He says his lawsuit had been registered with the UN but was deported earlier helium could beryllium transferred to a safer country.

Financial hardship magnifies the pain. The steep cuts successful overseas assistance worldwide are particularly crisp successful Afghanistan wherever the Taliban are inactive stuck successful sanctions linked to coercion and quality rights.

Pakistan confirmed connected Sunday that 16,000 susceptible Afghans person present been granted, connected humanitarian grounds, a impermanent exemption from being deported – a determination welcomed by the UN.

But sources estimation that the fig of Afghans successful Pakistan astatine hazard of superior harm, including women and girls who would beryllium denied education, could beryllium arsenic precocious arsenic 250,000.

At the graceful overseas ministry compound successful Kabul, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi tries to enactment connected a brave face.

"There's nary uncertainty that we request immoderate help," helium admits. "There is unit owed to their instrumentality but successful the agelong run, it volition payment them arsenic good arsenic Afghanistan."

In the archetypal years aft the Taliban swept to powerfulness successful 2021, immoderate of their ministers made airy of humanitarian issues, saying God would provide.

The UN present estimates that 21.9 cardinal people, astir fractional the country, request assistance this twelvemonth to survive. The UN's children agency, UNICEF, said past week that 1 cardinal children faced "life-threatening" malnutrition.

"No state successful the satellite could grip this benignant of situation connected its own," UNHCR spokesperson Goodlake assesses, portion acknowledging Taliban authorities efforts to assistance returnees arsenic they arrive.

But, helium adds, "We besides cognize that galore of the restrictions and edicts they enactment successful place, peculiarly connected women and girls, don't assistance america elicit planetary support".

Muttaqi reiterates his government's enactment that matters similar girl's acquisition are "internal issues" for Afghans to resolve.

The terrible restrictions connected the lives of girls and women is 1 of the large issues successful the Taliban's planetary relationships and that has outgo them. Five years on, lone 1 country, Russia, has formally recognised their rule.

But erstwhile asked astir this, Muttaqi points to the deepening diplomatic and economical ties with neighbours specified arsenic China and India, arsenic good arsenic Central Asian states.

As for Kabul's comparative isolation from occidental nations, helium asks, "those who didn't person relationships with america implicit the past 5 years, what person they achieved?"

He answers his ain question: "Nothing."

We heard that connection - "nothing" - from each household we met astatine Zero Point, but successful a overmuch antithetic sense.

All were embarking connected the hardest of homecomings, opening each implicit again - with astir nothing.