The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Monday that more than half a million Afghan refugees had returned from Pakistan in the past four months.
The IOM said that the refugees returned to Afghanistan between September 15 and January 13, most of them through the Torkham and Spin Boldak border crossings.
Pakistan had set a deadline of November 1 for the departure of an estimated 1.7 million Afghans without valid residency permits. Most of the returning Afghans crossed the border before the deadline for fear of arrest in Pakistan.
The IOM said that the return of Afghan refugees is a major challenge for Afghanistan, which is already facing a humanitarian crisis. The country is struggling to cope with the return of millions of refugees, as well as the ongoing conflict with the Taliban.
