A CHILD RETURNS TO AFGHANISTAN EVERY 30 SECONDS AMID WORSENING HUMANITARIAN CRISIS: SAVE THE CHILDREN

Wed 13 August 2025:

Afghanistan is experiencing a sharp increase in child returnees, with Save the Children reporting that, on average, one child returns from Iran or Pakistan every 30 seconds, as stated in their Monday release.

More than 800,000 children have returned to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan this year, double the number recorded in 2024. Around three-quarters of these children have returned from Iran, many of them born outside Afghanistan or having spent most of their lives in exile.

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The child rights organisation warns that many of these children are arriving with little more than the clothes on their backs, some unaccompanied, and are effectively strangers in their own homeland.

“The scale and pace of people returning to Afghanistan right now is completely unprecedented,” said Samira Sayed Rahman, Advocacy Director at Save the Children in Afghanistan. “We are on the brink of a full-scale humanitarian crisis like we’ve never seen before.”

The crisis is further exacerbated by internal displacement, driven by worsening climate conditions, including severe drought in northern provinces that has devastated crops and water supplies. One in five Afghan children is now facing crisis levels of hunger.

At the same time, drastic reductions in international aid have crippled humanitarian efforts, leaving agencies struggling to meet overwhelming demand. Save the Children pressed regional governments to guarantee that all returns are voluntary, safe, and dignified, especially for unaccompanied children vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

It also urged the global community to increase emergency funding for both border support and sustained resettlement aid.

2 million migrants returned to Afghanistan so far

More than two million migrants, including approximately 500,000 children, have returned to Afghanistan from Iran, Pakistan, and several Central Asian countries so far this year, UNICEF announced following a visit by Ted Chaiban, Deputy Executive Director for Humanitarian Action and Supply Operations.

Chaiban, who recently completed his fourth visit to Afghanistan, highlighted the scale of returns, noting that on July 4 alone, over 50,000 individuals crossed into Afghanistan from Iran — the highest single-day figure recorded in 2025.

He warned that this mass influx has placed severe pressure on already fragile communities, where more than half of the population depends on humanitarian assistance.

Afghan refugees in Iran and Pakistan face severe challenges due to mass deportations and restrictive policies. In Iran, hosting 4-6 million Afghans, recent deportations of over 1.3 million in 2025 alone involve arbitrary arrests, violence, and family separations, often without legal recourse, violating non-refoulement principles.

Economic strain and anti-migrant sentiment fuel these actions, with refugees scapegoated for societal issues. Many, including unaccompanied children, face exploitation and lack access to education or jobs. In Pakistan, 1.4 million registered and 800,000 undocumented Afghans are being forcibly expelled, with 600,000 deported since 2023.

Security concerns and economic pressures drive policies, leading to harassment, detentions, and extortion. Both countries’ actions overwhelm Afghanistan’s fragile infrastructure, leaving returnees destitute amid a humanitarian crisis.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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