The forced return of Afghan migrants from Pakistan has surged in recent weeks, accompanied by a sharp rise in reports of police brutality, illegal property seizures, and widespread extortion.
Kabul 24: Many returnees, some of whom spent decades building lives in cities like Karachi, Quetta, and Peshawar, say they have lost everything overnight. Shamsullah, who lived in Karachi for 40 years, said: “My ancestors settled there.
I bought land and thought I would stay forever, but we were forced to abandon it all.” Another returnee, Islamuddin, left behind a house worth 1.5 to 2 million Pakistani rupees, saying: “Anyone could seize it. We only managed to save our lives.”One of the most distressing aspects is the arrest and deportation of children and teenagers without informing their families.
Najibullah, an unaccompanied minor who was sent back alone, recounted: “Police were arresting children aged 10 to 17, holding them in jail for up to a month, mistreating them, forcing them to work, and then deporting them to Afghanistan without guardians.” Another child, Allah Mohammad, described the ordeal: “The cruelty was unbearable. Many of my friends were detained and expelled.
Their families were left desperate.”Local officials in Spin Boldak district confirm that dozens of unaccompanied children have been deported from Pakistan in recent weeks.
Mohammad Ali Haqmal, the district’s public relations officer, said: “These children were arrested and expelled without their families being notified.
They are now facing serious difficulties, but the Islamic Emirate is providing assistance.”Extortion by Pakistani police along the Chaman–Spin Boldak route has become routine. Returnees report being forced to pay between 20,000 and 80,000 Afghanis to be allowed to cross.
Yousuf Khan, who spent three months in detention, said: “Even after release, we had to pay 80,000 Afghanis just to be let go.”Currently, between 1,200 and 1,500 families (6,000–8,000 people) cross into Afghanistan daily through the Chaman–Spin Boldak border, and complaints of police abuse and property confiscation continue to rise sharply.
