BORDER CONSORTIUM, 5- 11 NOVEMBER 2023

Since 15 September, there has been a notable surge in the number of returnees to Afghanistan, taking place primarily through the Torkham and Spin Boldak border crossings. The announcement on 3 October by Pakistan’s national Apex Committee of the plan1 to repatriate over a million foreigners without valid documents, mostly Afghans triggered a consistent and steep increase in the number of undocumented and ACC-Card holders Afghan crossing the numbers. This culminated at the beginning of November in line with the ultimatum of 1 November given to illegal foreigners residing in Pakistan by Pakistan’s Minister of Interior.

There have been over 327,000 returnees recorded during this period, with numbers increasing from less than 200 per day in early October to more than 17,000 by early November. This influx, consisting largely of spontaneous returns, also includes a growing number of deportations