Afghanistan’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation has voiced concern over the treatment being meted out to Afghan refugees by neighboring countries, stating that Pakistan and Iran are not abiding by international laws pertaining to refugees.

According to a statement issued by the ministry, “Afghan refugees are being subjected to violence, their property is being looted, and their household goods are being confiscated, which is against all Islamic and human principles and international laws.”

The ministry stated that Afghan refugees are also being illegally arrested in their homes, shops, and markets in Pakistan, and then taken to prison before being forcibly deported.

The ministry also urged Pakistan to end the violence and mistreatment of Afghan refugees and not use refugees as tools for its own political goals.

“All refugees should be allowed to take their wealth, belongings, and household items back to their country,” the statement read.

The ministry also called on international organizations and aid agencies to pay special attention to solving the problems of Afghan refugees and provide them with urgent assistance in Afghanistan.

In addition, the ministry said the refugees should not face oppression, coercion, or violence once they return to Afghanistan.

“Afghanistan’s wealthy people and investors are also expected to once again help Afghan refugees based on their Islamic and human feelings and brotherhood, as they have done in the past; ordinary Afghans should welcome their refugee brothers and sisters with open arms and do everything they can to help them.”

In 2023, Pakistan started a campaign to deport approximately four million Afghans who have entered the country over the past 40 years.

Last year, the authorities granted some leeway but Pakistan’s government then set a March 31 deadline to expel foreign nationals living in the country illegally. Islamabad did however push this deadline out a few days in light of Eid-ul-Fitr.

The Islamic Emirate said it has tried to put plans in place to accommodate an influx of refugees from Pakistan but stressed that any mistreatment of the refugees was unacceptable.

Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq Khan, Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, warned on Monday that “all deals with Afghanistan are off” if the Islamic Emirate government fails to act on Islamabad’s concerns regarding terrorism emanating from Afghan soil.

Pakistan has long accused the IEA of not doing enough to stop militants from carrying out attacks on Pakistani soil. The IEA has however repeatedly denied the accusations and said they will not allow any individual or group to threaten another country from Afghanistan. 

Addressing a seminar at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), Khan said: “TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) is a challenge, a big challenge for us. It cannot be tolerated because our young kids and boys are getting killed every day.”

“Afghanistan will have to work with us on this. If they are not working with us, then all deals are off. Nothing could have happened. There would be no further progress on anything,” he stated. 

His comments came only two weeks after his talks with senior IEA officials on a wide range of issues, including the TTP. 

Khan also stated at the seminar that in the past year, at least 500 Afghan nationals have been involved in terrorist attacks in Pakistan and that this number is on the rise. 

On the refugee issue, he said there has been an outcry about Islamabad’s decision to deport Afghans in Pakistan. He added however that so far this year only 568 Afghans have been deported, opposed to the 1.5 million Afghan refugees sent home from Iran last year. This, he said, did not cause an outcry as has happened in Pakistan. 

He also said India was behind militants in Afghanistan, providing them with financial support. 

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is ending most, if not all, remaining U.S. aid for Afghanistan and Yemen, aid sources said on Monday, in what the U.N. World Food Programme said could be “a death sentence” for millions, Reuters reported.

The cuts were among numerous aid programs terminated for more than a dozen countries – including Somalia and Syria – over the weekend by the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development, according to Sarah Charles, a former head of USAID’s humanitarian affairs bureau, and nine sources, including six current U.S. officials involved in humanitarian aid who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The total amount of aid cut was over $1.3 billion, according figures provided by Stand Up For Aid, a grassroots advocacy group. That includes $562 million for Afghanistan, $107 million for Yemen, $170 million for Somalia, $237 million for Syria and $12 million for Gaza.

The U.N. World Food Programme warned that the termination of U.S. funding for emergency food assistance “could amount to a death sentence for millions of people facing extreme hunger and starvation,” and said it was in contact with the Trump administration for more information.

In a Post on X, WFP chief Cindy McCain said funding cuts “will deepen hunger, fuel instability, and make the world far less safe.”

A State Department spokesperson referred Reuters to the White House when asked about the program terminations. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the U.N. was trying to get details on the canceled contracts.

The cuts are the latest piece of the Trump administration’s drive to dismantle USAID, the main U.S. humanitarian aid agency. His administration has canceled billions of dollars in life-saving programs since the Republican president began his second term on January 20.

Many of the terminated programs had been granted waivers by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio from cuts to foreign aid programs made by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency since February, three of the sources said.

The U.S. has been the largest aid donor to Islamic Emirate-ruled Afghanistan and to Yemen, most of which is controlled by Islamist militants of the Iran-backed Houthi movement. Both countries have suffered years of devastating war.

“Every remaining USAID award for Afghanistan was terminated,” said one source. The officials said the canceled funds included assistance for a U.N. agency that helps women and girls, the WFP and at least six non-governmental organizations.

Assistance to Afghans provided by the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration also was terminated, five sources said.

The terminations will worsen the world’s humanitarian crises, putting millions of desperate people at risk of starvation, and could fuel new waves of illegal immigration, according to several sources and experts.

“Despite continued assurances that lifesaving programs would be protected during the Trump Administration’s ‘review’ of foreign assistance, DOGE spent the weekend canceling aid that the administration previously told Congress would be retained,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

She said the end of food assistance would “have devastating consequences” and she looked forward to hearing more from Rubio.

Among the cuts this weekend were $169.8 million for the WFP in Somalia, covering food assistance, nutrition for malnourished babies and children and humanitarian air support. In Syria, $111 million was cut from WFP food assistance.

Nearly 23 million people, more than half of whom are children, are in need of assistance in Afghanistan, according to the U.N. The WFP says it provided emergency food and cash to nearly 12 million Afghans last year, prioritizing the help for women and girls facing “extreme hunger.”

“The Afghan awards were very carefully targeted at the most life-saving activities,” said Charles, who left USAID in January 2024. “This will be devastating to the most vulnerable in Afghanistan who are … under the thumb of the Taliban (IEA).”

The U.N. says the U.S. has so far given $206 million in assistance for Afghanistan this year. Last year, it was the largest donor – giving $736 million – to the country wrecked by decades of war that ended with the Islamic Emirate seizing power as the U.S. withdrew its last troops in August 2021.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which focuses on sexual and reproductive health, was first told at the end of February that a $24 million two-year grant for work in Afghanistan had been terminated. At the same time, a $17 million two-year grant for work in Syria was also terminated.

Both terminations were rescinded by Washington within days. On Friday, both grants were once again terminated, UNFPA said.

The cutoff of aid to Afghanistan also could unleash new economic instability as it will affect shipments of dollars to a private bank in Kabul for exchange into afghanis, the national currency, by the United Nations to fund aid operations.

The cuts may also stoke conditions that prompt people to join extremist groups like Islamic State’s Afghanistan-based branch, known as ISIS-K, U.S. officials said.

Reuters also reviewed the text of a USAID letter informing an undisclosed Yemen aid contractor that the termination was ordered by Jeremy Lewin, an acting USAID assistant administrator and a DOGE operative overseeing the dismantling of USAID, including the termination of thousands of employees.

“The decision to terminate this individual award,” the letter said, “is pursuant to a review and determination that the award is inconsistent with the Administration’s priorities.”

According to U.N. data, more than 19 million of Yemen’s 35 million people are in need of help, with some 17 million “food insecure.” The U.S., which has provided $768 million last year according to the U.N., has provided so far this year $15 million in assistance to Yemen.