Afghan asylum seekers deported from Iran have faced arbitrary detention and targeted killings after returning to Afghanistan, with families of victims accusing the Afghan Taliban of carrying out the killings, according to findings by Afghanistan International, as international concern grows over the forced expulsion of Afghans from the region.
An examination of multiple cases by Afghanistan International, an Afghan media, found that such incidents have occurred repeatedly following deportations, raising serious questions about the safety of returnees under Taliban rule. Families of those killed said their relatives were targeted after being identified as former asylum seekers, alleging that Taliban authorities detained and later murdered them under the pretext of security screening.
The findings come amid a sharp increase in deportations from Iran. Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni told the Iranian parliament on Monday, November 10, that around 1.5 million people had left the country during the current year. He claimed that approximately 70 percent departed voluntarily.
Momeni further stated that more than 1.4 million foreign nationals were “officially handed over at the borders and returned to their home countries in the presence of a United Nations representative.” He acknowledged that while the number of arrests and referrals was higher, those deported were returned through what he described as official and registered procedures.
However, human rights concerns have intensified over what happens to deported Afghans once they cross back into Taliban-controlled territory. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, on Thursday, November 6, described the forced expulsion of Afghans from Iran and Pakistan as “alarming” while addressing the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly.
“These actions have deprived many people of essential support and have returned them to unsafe environments,” Grandi said, warning that deportations were placing vulnerable populations particularly former asylum seekers at serious risk.
Human rights observers say the reported killings and detentions of returnees reinforce longstanding concerns about the Taliban’s treatment of perceived dissidents, former migrants, and individuals suspected of links with foreign countries. Despite repeated Taliban claims of granting general amnesty and ensuring safety, reports of reprisals, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings continue to surface.
The latest findings have renewed calls on regional states and the international community to halt forced deportations of Afghans and to ensure that returns are voluntary, safe, and dignified, amid mounting evidence that deported asylum seekers face grave dangers upon their return to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
