Afghan repatriation slows sharply at Torkham, with only 10 to 15 families crossing into Afghanistan each day, compared with hundreds a day in August and September.
Sources in Landi Kotal and Torkham told Dawn on Tuesday that the pace of returns has fallen steeply over the past few weeks, and the profile of those still leaving has changed as well.
Afghan repatriation slows: a sharp drop at the registration centre
An official at the Hamza Baba registration centre said about 100 people, mostly children, were now going back each day, against more than 1,000 a day until the last week of September.
The official, who asked not to be named, said staff had not registered children below the age of 10 until September because of the heavy workload. Now they were registering children as young as three, in order to meet the numbers of those still passing through.
Officials linked the slowdown to poor living conditions in Afghanistan and the harsh winter ahead. Many of those who could leave easily have already gone. Those who remain are the ones with the fewest options.
Who is still crossing
The families now returning are largely those whose male heads were either deported by force in recent months or stayed back because of long illness and treatment in Pakistani hospitals. Others were arrested by police in different cities during the crackdown on undocumented foreigners, mostly because they lacked valid travel documents, and were brought to the border under police escort.
Waheedullah, a clearing agent at Torkham, said those brought in for deportation were taken straight to the border’s Zero Point. Those referred from transit points in Azakhel, Nowshera, Nasir Bagh, Peshawar and Landi Kotal were given tokens there, then brought to the customs terminal at Torkham, where their belongings went through manual and electronic checks before they crossed.
A form was prepared for every returning family at registration, then shown to customs officers so it could be uploaded to the Goods Declaration form before a gate pass was issued. “The clearance process of the returning families at the customs terminal resembles the clearing of trade goods at the said terminal,” Waheedullah said.
He said most of the families still returning were extremely poor, and almost all were ethnic Pakhtuns from the border regions. The better-off families, including non-Pakhtuns, had mostly left in the early phase of repatriation. Those who had trouble finding a place to live in Afghanistan stayed back, hoping the Pakistani authorities might give them some relief.
Fear about the winter ahead
Mujeebullah Shinwari, president of the Torkham Customs Clearing Agents Association, said a large number of undocumented Afghans still in Pakistan were deeply worried about their future in Afghanistan. They cited poor job prospects, weak schooling and health care for their children and, above all, a lack of proper housing.
He said most of those still here were labourers with limited skills or none at all, and they had 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.
The concern is not new. Pakistan’s drive to send back undocumented Afghans has run in waves since late 2023, and arrests of Afghan nationals were still being reported last month, alongside action against illegal Afghan nationals in Punjab. Torkham itself has seen tension too, including warning shots fired at the border post in October. What has changed now is the pace: the mass returns of late summer have given way to a slow flow of the poorest and most vulnerable.
Complaints about lost belongings
Meanwhile, complaints have surfaced about the theft or unexplained disappearance of costly personal items belonging to returning Afghans during customs clearance and the border crossing.
Sources in Torkham said transporters who moved the belongings of returnees had complained to local authorities about the theft of certain valuable items, and the returning families had cut a large amount from the transport fare as a penalty.
Returning Afghans also complained that some of their personal items, including essential medicines, had been taken by border authorities even though the goods had passed electronic and manual checks and customs clearance.
Several complaints were lodged with border and customs authorities for the return of confiscated items, but the verification process was painfully slow. To reclaim an item, a complainant had to approach customs, where the assistant collector forwarded the application to the superintendent and then to the inspector. Permission from the Pakistan Land Port Authority and the National Logistics Corporation was also needed.
Frequently asked questions
How many Afghans are returning through Torkham each day?
Sources at the border say only 10 to 15 families are crossing daily now, compared with hundreds a day in August and September.
How many people pass through the Hamza Baba centre daily?
An official at the centre said about 100 people, mostly children, were going back each day, against more than 1,000 a day until the last week of September.
Why has the pace slowed?
Officials point to poor living conditions in Afghanistan and the harsh winter ahead. Most of those who could leave easily have already gone, and those who remain are largely poor labourers with few options.
Who is still crossing the border?
The families now leaving are mostly those whose male heads were deported earlier or were ill in hospital, along with people arrested in the crackdown on undocumented foreigners and brought to the border under police escort.
What complaints have returning families raised?
They have complained about the theft or confiscation of personal items, including essential medicines, during customs clearance, and about a reclaim process so slow and complicated that many have given up.
