Highlights
1,881 undocumented Afghans returned from Pakistan
47,266 undocumented Afghans returned from Iran
1,881 total returns from Pakistan since 01 Jan 2018
89% of returnees from Pakistan (1,665 individuals) assisted
4% of returnees from Iran (2,011 individuals) assisted
336 Unaccompanied Migrant Children (UMC) from Iran among those assisted, 5 from Pakistan
314 Special Cases (SC) from Iran among those assisted, 32 from Pakistan
305 Medical Cases (MC) from Iran among those assisted, 0 from Pakistan. Out of the total assisted, 5% (177) were Female HH
Return from Pakistan
A total of 1,881 undocumented Afghans spontaneously returned or were deported from Pakistan through the Turkham (Nangarhar) and Spin Boldak (Kandahar) border crossings during January 2018, according to the Border Monitoring Team of the Directorate of Refugees and Repatriation (DoRR).
Of the total returnees, 1,663 were spontaneous returnees and 218 were deported. This number marks a 5% decrease compared to the previous month (1,987). The total number of undocumented Afghan returnees from Pakistan since 01 January 2018 is now 1,881. IOM provided post-arrival assistance to 89% of undocumented Afghan returnees from Pakistan (1,665 individuals), including 1,155 individuals in poor families and 478 individuals in single parent families, 32 individuals as special cases (SC), and 5 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 2018, over 49,147 undocumented Afghans have returned due to diverse push factors, including deteriorating protection space in Pakistan and Iran. 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. The governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan together with UN counterparts are presently discussing options to extend Proof of Registration card validity for 1.4m Afghan refugees in Pakistan and to begin the issuance of Afghan Citizenship Cards for more than 800,000 undocumented Afghans. IOM is working to scale up its support to returnees in coordination with the Government of Afghanistan and other humanitarian partners in line with the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP).