FT: Over the past year, Iran and Pakistan have sent an estimated 3mn Afghans back after decades and sometimes lifetimes in exile, according to the UN, 150,000 alone in the past six weeks. Afghanistan’s population is up 12 per cent from 40mn in 2023, when Islamabad and Tehran began mass deportations. More are to come.
Special Eurasia: Tehran’s potential recognition of the Taliban is a strategic security hedge designed to stabilise its eastern frontier and prevent Afghanistan from being used as a platform for hostile intelligence or militant activity. Deepening trade interdependence, energy exports, and border free-trade zones are embedding Afghanistan structurally into Iran’s economy, transforming geopolitical risk into geo-economic
Ariana: According to UNHCR’s representative in Afghanistan, Arafat Jamal, 5.4 million Afghans have returned since October 2023, the vast majority from Pakistan and Iran. Speaking to reporters in Geneva via video link from Kabul, he said the pace of returns is overwhelming. “This is massive, and the speed and scale of these returns has pushed
Afghanistan International: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Afghan migrants were not involved in operating drones during the recent 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel, rejecting rumours that Afghans had been arrested over flying the devices. Hossein Nejat, a senior commander in the Revolutionary Guard, said most of those involved in activities during the conflict
Khaama: India faces uncertainty over its investment in Iran’s Chabahar port after the Trump administration imposed new 25% tariffs on nations engaging economically with Tehran. The project, a collaboration between India, Iran, and Afghanistan, is vital for India’s access to Afghanistan and Central Asia without passing through Pakistan. Despite this, Indian officials insist that exiting
Ariana: More than 5.2 million Afghans have returned home from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan since the beginning of 2025, placing unprecedented strain on an already fragile humanitarian situation, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said in a new report. According to IFRC, the massive wave of returnees and deportees between
Ariana: Fear of arrest and forced deportation is pushing Afghan refugees in Pakistan into life-threatening situations, with women, children and the sick paying the heaviest price, humanitarian groups warn. Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières – MSF) has shared harrowing accounts of Afghan families too afraid to leave their homes, even for urgent medical care,
Afghanistan International: A local commander affiliated with the National Islamic Movement Party of Afghanistan was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in northern Afghanistan after being deported from Iran, the party’s spokesperson said. Ehsan Niro told Afghanistan International that the Taliban were responsible for the killing of a commander known as Yousuf in Khwaja Du Koh
Afghanistan International: Yunus Qanuni, a former Afghan vice president, said Taliban intelligence was responsible for the assassination of Ikramuddin Sari, a former Afghan security commander, in Tehran. He added that there is no doubt the group’s intelligence bodies conduct cross-border operations. Click here to read more (external link). More UN Rapporteur Calls for Probe Into
Afghanistan International: The funeral ceremony was held on Saturday afternoon in the Chahardangeh area of Tehran, where mourners gathered in large numbers to pay their respects. Several Iranian media outlets have criticised the authorities’ silence over the assassinations of Taliban opponents, describing the group as an unreliable partner. Some newspapers have also questioned Iran’s decision