Map 20b · Conflict
Afghans pushed out of Pakistan, 2023–2026
- Region
- Pakistan and Afghanistan, 2023–2026
- Data
- UNHCR-IOM flash updates (monthly totals, deportations, status), UNHCR crossing shares, UN destination survey for 2025.
- Rule
- Arrow width is people through each crossing (estimated from monthly totals and UNHCR shares); Afghan provinces shaded by intended destination in 2025; circles are arrests in 2026.
On 3 October 2023 Pakistan gave undocumented foreigners, almost all of them Afghans, until 1 November to leave. The drive widened to Afghan Citizen Card holders in April 2025 and to PoR card holders, whose cards expired on 30 June 2025, from September 2025. From 15 September 2023 to 3 October 2026, 2,735,890 Afghans crossed back, 277,298 of them deported after arrest. Nearly 70% went through Torkham on the Khyber Pass and a quarter through Spin Boldak–Chaman; arrow widths share each month’s total across the crossings in the proportions UNHCR published, so they are estimates. Afghan provinces are shaded by where returnees from Pakistan in 2025 said they were heading: Kunduz, Nangarhar, Kandahar and Kabul took 57%. Grey circles are arrests of Afghans in Pakistan in 2026, led by Chagai on the Iranian border, Peshawar and Karachi.
Indus AtlasFree to reuse with credit · CC BY-SA 4.0indusatlas.vercel.app
Hover or tap a crossing, province or circle.
Returns by year
| Period | All returns | Returned | of which UNHCR-assisted | Deported |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Sep – 31 Dec 2023 | 490,891 | 436,600 | 24,971 | 29,320 |
| 2024 | 315,100 | 280,512 | 25,634 | 8,954 |
| 2025 | 1,125,946 | 783,736 | 187,547 | 154,663 |
| 1 Jan – 3 Oct 2026 | 803,953 | 590,723 | 128,869 | 84,361 |
| Total | 2,735,890 | 2,091,571 | 367,021 | 277,298 |
By border crossing (estimated)
| Crossing | Afghan province | Returns | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Torkham | Nangarhar | 1,906,600 | 69.7% |
| Spin Boldak – Chaman | Kandahar | 700,400 | 25.6% |
| Bahramcha | Hilmand | 71,900 | 2.6% |
| Ghulam Khan | Khost | 55,400 | 2.0% |
| Badini | Kandahar or Zabul | 1,600 | 0.1% |
Where returnees said they were going, January to November 2025
| Province | Returnees |
|---|---|
| Kunduz | 122,000 |
| Nangarhar | 114,000 |
| Kandahar | 100,000 |
| Kabul | 97,000 |
| Baghlan | 54,000 |
| Helmand | 51,000 |
| Balkh | 47,000 |
| Laghman | 23,000 |
| Jowzjan | 18,000 |
| Herat | 17,000 |
- Monthly totals are printed on UNHCR and IOM’s chart; the split between returns and deportations was measured from its bars and scaled to the printed yearly deportation totals.
- Of returnees other than deportees, 1,545,963 (63%) were undocumented, 173,425 (7%) held Afghan Citizen Cards and 739,204 (30%) held PoR cards. Since April 2025 the largest numbers left from Quetta (16%), Peshawar (15%), Nowshera (14%) and Haripur (10%).
- No returns were recorded through Torkham in March 2026, when the month’s total fell to 10,986.
- Destination figures are the UN’s extrapolation from returnees assisted at the border, rounded to thousands; no breakdown by province covers the whole period since 2023.
All places
Every place on the map. Select a row to find it on the plate.
47 places
| about 1,906,600 · 69.7% | |
| about 700,400 · 25.6% | |
| 122,000 | |
| 114,000 | |
| 100,000 | |
| 97,000 | |
| about 71,900 · 2.6% | |
| about 55,400 · 2.0% | |
| 54,000 | |
| 51,000 | |
| 47,000 | |
| 35,219 | |
| 23,000 | |
| 18,000 | |
| 17,000 | |
| 15,000 | |
| 14,000 | |
| 13,000 | |
| 12,000 | |
| 11,384 | |
| 11,000 | |
| 9,000 | |
| 8,474 | |
| 8,000 | |
| 6,000 | |
| 6,000 | |
| 4,952 | |
| 4,000 | |
| 4,000 | |
| 3,351 | |
| 3,000 | |
| 3,000 | |
| 2,390 | |
| 2,076 | |
| 2,000 | |
| 2,000 | |
| 1,527 | |
| 1,437 | |
| 1,106 | |
| 1,000 | |
| 1,000 | |
| 1,000 | |
| 919 | |
| 813 | |
| 634 | |
| 583 | |
| 493 |
Sources
- UNHCR and IOM, Flash Update #114 on arrest, detention and flow monitoring of Afghans returning from Pakistan, 8 October 2026; UNHCR, Pakistan–Afghanistan Returns Emergency Response updates #26 (January 2025), #43 (September 2025) and #55 (September 2026), for shares by border crossing.
- UN in Afghanistan (Durable Solutions), Afghanistan Returnees Overview, November 2025: intended province of return for returnees from Pakistan, January to November 2025.
- UNHCR Pakistan, Pakistan: Overview of Afghan Refugee Population and UNHCR Operational Presence, 31 December 2018, and Overview of Refugees and Afghans of Other Status in Pakistan, 30 June 2026 (data.unhcr.org/en/country/pak); PoR card holders by province from the UNHCR operational data portal, December 2022 to August 2026.
- Pakistan and Afghanistan: geoBoundaries PAK ADM2 (pre-2018 districts) and AFG ADM1; neighbouring countries from Natural Earth; crossing points from GeoNames.