Afghan Deportations Fuel Humanitarian Strain

Summary

BBC Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet discusses her reporting from Kabul and the Afghan-Pakistan border on the forced return of millions of Afghans from Pakistan and Iran. She describes how recent conflicts accelerated deportations and how returning women and girls face severe Taliban restrictions on education and work. The report highlights a humanitarian crisis largely overlooked by the world.

• Lyse Doucet recently returned from reporting in Kabul and at the Afghan-Pakistan border.
• About six million Afghans have been forcibly returned from Pakistan and Iran over the past three years.
• Many returnees had never lived in Afghanistan before.
• Deportations intensified after Iran's war with Israel and after cross-border fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
• Taliban edicts bar women and girls from secondary school, university, and many jobs.
• Some Afghan girls are attending secret schools or studying online despite the restrictions.
• Senior Taliban members privately disagree with the edicts but defer to the ultraconservative emir.
• The United Nations says returns must be voluntary, safe, and dignified, while migration remains a toxic political issue.