Highlights
- 354 undocumented Afghans returned from Pakistan
- 12,134 undocumented Afghans returned from Iran
- 97,642 total returns from Pakistan since 01 Jan 2017
- 453,600 total returns from Iran since 01 Jan 2017
- 85% of returnees from Pakistan (302 individuals) assisted
- 7% of returnees from Iran (846 individuals) assisted
- 245 Unaccompanied Migrant Children (UMC) from Iran among those assisted, 0 from Pakistan
- 146 Medical Cases (MC) from Iran, 0 from Pakistan
- 2 Single Females (SF) from Iran, 0 from Pakistan
Return from Pakistan
A total of 354 undocumented Afghans spontaneously returned or were deported from Pakistan through the Turkham (Nangarhar) and Spin Boldak (Kandahar) border crossings from 17-23 December, according to the Border Monitoring Team of the Directorate of Refugees and Repatriation (DoRR).
Of the total returnees, 320 were spontaneous returnees and 34 were deported.
This number marks a 26% decrease compared to the previous week (481). The total number of undocumented Afghan returnees from Pakistan since 01 January 2017 is now 97,642. IOM provided post-arrival assistance to 85% of undocumented Afghan returnees from Pakistan (302 individuals), including 197 indivsduals in Poor Families (PF), 95 individuals in Single Parent families (SP), 6 Special Cases (SC) and 4 Unaccompanied Migrant Children (UMC). The assistance provided includes meals, accommodation, basic medical screening, Non-Food Items (NFIs), onward transportation cash grants and referral services, as well as support from partners.
Situation Overview
IOM is responding to a substantial increase in the return of undocumented Afghans from Pakistan and Iran. Since 01 January 2017, over 551,000 undocumented Afghans have returned due to diverse push factors, including deteriorating protection space in Pakistan and Iran. This figure represents a significantly lower rate of return than in previous years. Most of those returning have lived outside of Afghanistan for decades, and will need support from the government and humanitarian actors both on arrival and as they seek to reintegrate. As the rate of return is influenced by a number of political, security and other related factors both in Afghanistan and neighboring countries, another surge in returns could occur at any time. IOM estimates that approximately 558,526 undocumented Afghans could return from Pakistan and Iran in 2017, and is working to scale up its support to returnees in coordination with the Government of Afghanistan and other humanitarian partners.