KABUL — Taliban authorities in Afghanistan are committing serious human rights abuses — including torture, arbitrary detention, and threats to personal safety — against Afghans forced to return from Iran and Pakistan, according to a United Nations report released Thursday, reported by AFP.
The joint report from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN Human Rights Office paints a bleak picture of a nation ill-equipped to absorb a staggering influx of returnees — over 1.9 million in 2025 alone, the vast majority from Iran. The UN refugee agency warns that figure could rise to three million by year’s end, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.
The report, based on interviews with 49 returnees, found that those most at risk of Taliban reprisals include women and girls, former government employees, members of the Afghan security forces, civil society activists, and journalists.
“These violations include torture, ill-treatment, arbitrary arrest and detention, and threats to life and liberty,” the UN said. Many are targeted based on their past affiliations or simply their gender.
Despite the Taliban’s public claims of a general amnesty for former government and NATO-affiliated individuals, UN officials say the reality is starkly different.
“No one should be forced to return to a country where they risk persecution,” said UN human rights chief Volker Türk. “For women and girls in Afghanistan, that risk is intensified simply because of their gender.”
Afghanistan under Taliban rule remains internationally unrecognized and deeply isolated. Since regaining power in 2021, the regime has imposed harsh restrictions on women, barred girls from secondary education, and rolled back civil liberties.
Meanwhile, the return of hundreds of thousands from neighboring countries — many of whom fled Taliban rule in the first place — risks deepening suffering in a country where aid is shrinking and poverty is surging.
