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Afghan refugees in Iran face ‘impossible choices,’ UNHCR official warns

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A senior official from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says many Afghans living in Iran are facing increasingly difficult decisions as insecurity and economic hardship deepen across the region.

Arafat Jamal, the UNHCR representative in Afghanistan, told Al Jazeera that Afghans in Iran are caught between two difficult realities: remaining in Iran amid growing instability and economic strain, or returning to Afghanistan where many also face uncertainty and insecurity.

“At the moment, it seems to be more of a preemptive move,” Jamal said, referring to Afghans leaving Iran. “People are describing bombs falling around them. There is a great deal of fear, but they are also describing a dysfunctional economy.”

According to Jamal, approximately 110,000 Afghans have returned from Iran so far this year, many driven by fear of escalating conflict and deteriorating living conditions.

“For these people there are no good choices,” he said. “They are fleeing one war only to come to another,” Jamal added, referring to ongoing cross-border tensions and military activity involving Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The UNHCR official noted that the current wave of returns follows an already unprecedented movement of people.

In 2025, around 2.8 million Afghans returned to Afghanistan, making it the largest refugee return movement in the world that year.

Humanitarian agencies warn that Afghanistan is struggling to absorb such large numbers of returnees, particularly as the country faces widespread poverty, limited employment opportunities, and reduced international aid.

Jamal also cautioned that the United Nations currently lacks sufficient funding to maintain long-term assistance programs for returning refugees.

Without additional financial support, aid organizations may struggle to provide housing, food, and basic services to the growing number of returnees arriving in Afghanistan.

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IEA condemns Pakistan’s airstrikes in several Afghan provinces

In a statement released on Friday, Mujahid said the strikes took place in multiple locations, including Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia and Paktika provinces, as well as other areas.

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Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), has strongly condemned recent airstrikes that he says were carried out by Pakistan Armed Forces in several provinces of Afghanistan, describing the attacks as a “clear act of aggression” that caused civilian casualties.

In a statement released on Friday, Mujahid said the strikes took place in multiple locations, including Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia and Paktika provinces, as well as other areas.

According to the spokesman, some of the airstrikes struck residential houses, resulting in the deaths of civilians, including women and children. Other strikes reportedly hit areas that were uninhabited.

Mujahid said the timing of the attacks — during the final days of the holy month of Ramadan and on the eve of Eid al-Fitr — showed that those responsible “do not adhere to humanitarian principles or moral values.”

“The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns this crime and clear aggression in the strongest terms, and this cruelty will not go unanswered,” Mujahid said.

He also claimed that one of the airstrikes targeted a fuel storage facility belonging to Kam Air near Kandahar International Airport. According to Mujahid, the facility supplied fuel to civilian airlines as well as aircraft operated by the United Nations.

Mujahid further alleged that in a previous similar incident, another fuel depot owned by an Afghan trader, Haji Khanzada, was also targeted.

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Herat governor urges UN to prioritize Afghan domestic products in food purchases

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Noor Ahmad Islamjar, the governor of Herat, has urged the United Nations to give priority to domestic Afghan products when procuring food and essential goods.

According to a statement from the Herat governor’s office, Islamjar met with Indrika Ratwatte, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan, and Arafat Jamal, Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Afghanistan.

During the meeting, the governor praised the UN’s cooperation and described the support provided during the first wave of returning migrants as a significant success. He emphasized that the local administration is fully prepared to address the needs of any potential new wave of migrants.

Islamjar also stressed the importance of international support in expanding foreign markets for Afghan agricultural and industrial products, and called for easing banking restrictions, facilitating visa issuance, and improving online services for the private sector and local traders.

In response, Indrika Ratwatte welcomed the governor’s proposals and assured that the UN would strive to source necessary goods from Afghan domestic products in the future, while continuing its cooperation with the local administration across various sectors.

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Four civilians killed in Khost overnight in Pakistani military attacks

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Hamdullah Fetrat, Deputy Spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate, reported on Thursday that four civilians were killed overnight in Khost province during artillery and mortar shelling by the Pakistani military.

The attacks occurred around 4:00 a.m. in Alishir-Trezi district.

The victims were members of a nomadic family, including a man, a woman, and two children. Three additional children were injured in the strikes.

The Pakistani military also carried out attacks in Kunar province last night. While no casualties were reported there, several homes and private properties were damaged.

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