Pakistan (MNN) — For the last three decades, many Afghans fled the war in their country to neighboring Pakistan. Now, many are being forcibly deported back — though their homeland is in shatters.
For nearly thirty years of war, Pakistan became a refuge for fleeing Afghans. Now, it’s part of a global wave of forced deportations. Since 2023, nearly 900,000 have been sent back.
“There are about 3 million Afghans living in Pakistan, and this includes both registered refugees and undocumented individuals,” says Nehemiah from FMI.
Photo courtesy of FMI
Many are now scraping together what little they had — homes, businesses — as deportation looms. Even those married to or related to Pakistanis are not safe. Though they were protected from the Taliban, life in Pakistan was never truly easy.
“Pakistan is not a diverse country,” explains Nehemiah, “and Pakistan has a culture of tribalism, where people would like to be around their own community… So Afghans are never welcome into Pakistan.”
Unwanted in Pakistan, they now return to hostility in Afghanistan.
“Taliban and local Afghan people in Afghanistan, they are treating them very badly. There are stories of violence, the stories of bad behavior towards people who are coming from Pakistan, because Afghan community thinks that they are traitors,” says Nehemiah.
There is no basic infrastructure in Afghanistan, and the economy is trembling. “It’s devastating. It’s a meltdown situation in Afghanistan. There is no school for girls in Afghanistan,” says Nehemiah. “Still, there is a beacon of hope in Pakistan that girls are able to go to school or college. But this is not a situation in Afghanistan.”
FMI has a unique ministry among Afghans in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. When refugees fled to Pakistan, FMI provided safe houses and cared for dozens of families. They also helped plant over a dozen churches in Afghanistan, where returnees can now reconnect with small congregations. Click here to learn more about what they do!
“Support the cause to expand the Kingdom, Lord’s Kingdom. In this — one of the darkest, spiritually darkest places on Earth — like Afghanistan and the border areas of Asia and Pakistan, people can pray for Afghan returnees as they face immense challenges, economic hardship, emotional trauma, and struggle to rebuild their lives in a homeland that feels unfamiliar to them now,” says Nehemiah.
Header photo courtesy of FMI.
