Hundreds of Afghan migrants with legal documents are returning home from Iran each day through the Islam Qala crossing in western Herat province as tensions escalate between the neighbouring country and Israel, returnees and border officials say.
Some migrants arriving through the crossing said that worsening security conditions and the loss of work opportunities had forced them to leave Iran despite holding passports or legal residency permits.
Officials at the crossing indicated the number of Afghans forcibly deported from Iran remained unchanged, with between 2,500 and 3,000 people expelled daily.
However, following the recent escalation, the number of Afghans returning voluntarily with passports or residency documents has risen to between 1,300 and 1,500 per day.
Security concerns forced us to leave: Returnees
Hafizullah, 20-year-old man, originally from eastern Kunar province, had travelled to Iran for work after the death of his father and was supporting an 11-member family.
“I worked in Iran for more than a year, but after Israeli attacks intensified, the lives of migrants were at risk. I had to leave Iran to save my life,” he explained, adding he returned to Afghanistan empty-handed.
Ali Mousavi, another returnee from Herat province, said he had been working at a restaurant in Tehran for about a year but decided to leave despite holding a passport after hostilities escalated.
He said: “I had to return to my homeland to protect my life.”
Mousavi added his monthly income ranged between 15 and 20 million tomans, though rising living costs made it difficult to cover basic expenses.
Returnee complains of mistreatment
Naqibullah, another returnee from southeastern Khost province, said that he had gone to Iran due to poverty and unemployment and was responsible for supporting a 13-member family.
He complained Iranian police demanded extra payments and treated migrants violently in detention camps.
Deportation figures unchanged: Border officials
Jan Mohammad Noor, head of border affairs at Islam Qala, told Pajhwok Afghan News that between 2,500 and 3,000 Afghan migrants were forcibly returned through the crossing every day, similar to levels before the recent escalation.
He added officials of the port were prepared to assist migrants and, if necessary, could manage up to 50,000 arrivals daily in an emergency.
Meanwhile, officials at the border commissioner’s office noted a slight increase in migrants returning voluntarily with passports or legal residency permits.
Abdul Wahab Kamran, deputy commissioner at Islam Qala, said that between 1,300 and 1,500 Afghan migrants with passports were now returning each day — an increase of around 200 to 300 compared with earlier figures.
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