Repatriation of Afghan Nationals Slows in Khyber
KHYBER: Repatriation of undocumented Afghan nationals has slowed down considerably in recent weeks. Officials say poor living conditions and the approaching harsh winter in most parts of Afghanistan are the main reasons.
Sources in Landi Kotal and Torkham told Dawn that only 10-15 families are returning to Afghanistan every day. This is a big drop compared to hundreds of families recorded in September and August last year.
An official at the Hamza Baba registration centre said the return process has slowed over the last few weeks. Only about 100 individuals, mostly children, are going back now. This compares to more than 1,000 people daily until the last week of September.
Officials attribute trend to poor living conditions, impending harsh winter
The official, who asked not to be named, said they had not registered children below the age of 10 until September because of the heavy workload. Now they are even registering children as young as three to meet the numbers.
He said the families returning now are those whose male heads were either forcibly deported recently or stayed back due to long illness and are under treatment at different hospitals.
He added that some families include people who were arrested by police in different cities during the crackdown against 'illegal aliens'. Most did not have valid travel documents and were brought to the border under police escort for deportation.
Border Clearance Process
Waheedullah, a clearing agent at Torkham, told this scribe that people brought for deportation were taken straight to the border Zero Point. Those referred from Azakhel, Nowshera, Nasir Bagh, Peshawar and Landi Kotal transit points were issued tokens there and then brought to the customs terminal at Torkham. Their belongings went through manual and electronic scanning before repatriation.
He said a proforma for every returning family was prepared at registration time. This was presented to customs authorities for uploading onto the Goods Declaration form before a gate pass was issued for crossing the border.
"The clearance process of the returning families at the customs terminal resembles the clearing of trade goods at the said terminal," he said.
He said most families returning to Afghanistan are extremely poor. Almost all of them are ethnic Pakhtuns from border regions.
He said most affluent families, including non-Pakhtuns, had returned in the early period of repatriation. Those who had problems finding suitable accommodation stayed back hoping Pakistani authorities might give them some relaxation.
Concerns of Remaining Afghans
Mujeebullah Shinwari, president of the Torkham Customs Clearing Agents Association, said a large number of undocumented Afghans still living in Pakistan are very worried about their future in Afghanistan. They are concerned about inadequate economic opportunities, schooling and healthcare for their children, and above all, a lack of proper residential facilities.
He said most remaining Afghans are labourers with limited or no skills. They have also lost contact with host communities in Afghanistan over several decades.
"The coming six months are extremely testing for those who are going back now, as they have very limited resources to tackle the harsh winter, limited or no sources of income and very few houses to provide them with adequate shelter," he said.
Complaints About Theft and Confiscated Items
Meanwhile, complaints about theft or mysterious disappearance of costly personal items belonging to returning Afghans during customs clearance and border crossing have surfaced in recent weeks.
Sources in Torkham said transporters who shifted personal belongings of returnees registered complaints with local authorities about theft of certain "valuable" items. Returning families deducted a considerable amount from transport fare as a penalty.
They said returning Afghans also complained about confiscation of some personal items, including essential medicines and other goods, by border authorities. This happened despite these items being cleared during electronic and manual scanning and customs clearance.
Sources said several such complaints were lodged with border and customs authorities for return of confiscated items. But the verification process by authorities was painfully slow, disappointing the returning families.
They said the process for claiming back confiscated items was very complicated. The complainant had to approach customs authorities, where the assistant collector of customs forwarded the application to the superintendent and then to the inspector for verification. Permission from the Pakistan Land and Port Authority and the National Logistics Corporation was also mandatory.
Sources said the process for reclaiming lost items was so complicated, lengthy and painful that many Afghans withdrew their complaints. This left the stolen or confiscated items at the mercy of border authorities.
Customs clearing agents who supervise clearance of returning Afghans have called for a halt to such illegal activities. They said these activities were bringing a bad name to the country's institutions.
Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2026
Source: dawn