Highlights
483 undocumented Afghans returned from Pakistan
14,618 undocumented Afghans returned from Iran
3,879 total returns from Pakistan since 01 Jan 2018
102,927 total returns from Iran since 01 Jan 2018
94% of returnees from Pakistan (453 individuals) assisted
5% of returnees from Iran (727 individuals) assisted 158 Unaccompanied Migrant Children (UMC) from Iran among those assisted, 0 from Pakistan
76 Medical Cases (MC) from Iran among those assisted, 0 from Pakistan
Return from Pakistan
A total of 483 undocumented Afghans spontaneously returned or were deported from Pakistan through the Turkham (Nangarhar) and Spin Boldak (Kandahar) border crossings from 25 Feb—03 Mar 2018, according to the Border Monitoring Team of the Directorate of Refugees and Repatriation (DoRR). Of the total returnees, 481 were spontaneous returnees and 2 were deported. This number marks a 33% increase compared to the previous week (364). The total number of undocumented Afghan returnees from Pakistan since 01 January 2018 is now 3,879. IOM provided post-arrival assistance to 94% of undocumented Afghan returnees from Pakistan (453 individuals), including 335 individuals in poor families and 118 individuals in single parent families. 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 106,000 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 have now extended Proof of Registration cards for 1.4m Afghan refugees in Pakistan to 30 June 2018 and have begun the issuance of Afghan Citizenship Cards on 16 February for more than 850,000 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).