More than 2.6 million Afghan refugees and asylum seekers have been unlawfully deported from Iran and Pakistan in 2025.
According to the latest United Nations figures cited in a new report by Amnesty International today, the human rights organization is demanding an immediate cessation of all forced returns to Afghanistan, highlighting that approximately 60% of those expelled are women and children.
The mass deportations, which also include thousands from Turkey and Tajikistan, are occurring as the Taliban regime intensifies its attacks on human rights, particularly targeting women and girls. The expulsions contravene states’ binding non-refoulement obligations under customary international law, which forbid the return of individuals to a country where they face a real risk of grave human rights violations.
Amnesty International’s report also notes that European nations are increasing their efforts to deport Afghans. Germany, Austria, and the European Union are reportedly in negotiations with the de facto Taliban authorities to arrange for forced returns, despite the worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan where over 22 million people require assistance.
‘This rush to forcibly return people to Afghanistan ignores why they fled in the first place and the serious dangers they face if sent back,’ stated Smriti Singh, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for South Asia. ‘It shows a clear disregard for states’ international obligations and violates the binding principle of non-refoulement.’
Under Taliban rule, women and girls have been systematically removed from public life, barred from education past the age of 12, and denied freedom of movement and expression. Additionally, individuals who worked for the former government, especially members of the Afghanistan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF), along with journalists and human rights defenders, face severe reprisals including arbitrary arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings.
The report details how both Pakistan and Iran have scaled up expulsions. Following cross-border clashes, Pakistan intensified its deportation efforts. In Iran, authorities announced in March 2025 that the temporary “headcount” documents held by at least 2.6 million Afghans would expire, terminating their access to basic services. Between July and October 2025 alone, over 900,000 Afghans were unlawfully expelled from Iran.
Testimonies collected by Amnesty International illustrate the perilous situation for returnees. Shukufa, who worked for the former Afghan government, was deported from Pakistan in June 2025. ‘We cannot freely leave our home. there are no job opportunities. Girls’ schools are closed,’ she explained. ‘We [as former government officials and activists] cannot directly go to the Taliban-run offices for fear of being recognized.’
These fears are substantiated by a UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) report, which documented 21 instances of arbitrary arrest and torture, as well as 14 killings of former security personnel between July and September 2025.
Another returnee, Gull Agha, a former member of the security forces deported from Iran, noted the impossibility of regularizing his status. ‘Since I am a former security personnel, I cannot go and apply for a [Afghan] passport at the passport department. It has all my biometric data,’ he said.
Women and girls, who face what Amnesty describes as gender-based discrimination amounting to the crime against humanity of gender persecution, are being returned in vast numbers. UN estimates indicate that half of those deported from Pakistan were female, while 30% of deportees from Iran up to June 2025 were women and girls.
Sakina, a women’s rights activist, was forcibly returned from Pakistan in September 2025 despite being registered with the UNHCR and listed on a US humanitarian resettlement program. After the Taliban arrested and beat her family members to find her, she was forced to flee the country a second time upon her return. ‘I was not only afraid that the Taliban would recognize me, but also, I was afraid that the Taliban would arrest me for not wearing hijab,’ she told the organization.
Amnesty International concluded its report by urging all states to immediately stop forced returns, uphold their international legal obligations, and expand resettlement pathways for at-risk Afghans.