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

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/ive-never-been-to-afghanistan-six-million-deportees-forced-to-start-over-under-the-taliban/
- Published: 2026-09-01T05:00:34+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-01T05:16:15+00:00
- Original publisher: BBC World (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2e074nn8eko?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
- Topics: Art, Asia, Celebrity, Culture, Entertainment, Middle East, World

## Key points

- Over six million Afghans forced back from Pakistan and Iran since 2021
- Around a million expelled this year alone, UN says
- Returnees, some born abroad, face poverty and scant shelter on arrival

## Summary

More than six million Afghans have been forced to return home from Pakistan and Iran since the Taliban took power in August 2021, in what the UN describes as the largest cross-border movement of people anywhere in the world. Many returnees, including some who were born abroad and had never set foot in Afghanistan, are arriving destitute at crossings such as Torkham, where aid agencies struggle to provide even basic shelter, and are being met by a country still under severe economic strain.

The UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, says roughly a million people have been expelled this year alone, with both undocumented migrants and, increasingly, registered Afghans caught up in crackdowns by Pakistan and Iran. Many families report harassment, raids and arrests by Pakistani authorities, allegations Islamabad denies beyond calling any incidents "sporadic". The expulsions intensified after fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan escalated last October, with both neighbouring countries citing security and economic concerns as justification for the returns.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.