A growing Afghan returnees ID crisis is unfolding at border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan, as hundreds of thousands of families return home only to discover they lack the one document essential for rebuilding their lives: a national identity card. With more than six million Afghans having crossed back from Pakistan and Iran since September 2023, aid agencies warn that the overwhelming majority now face serious barriers to accessing jobs, education, and basic government services.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The Afghan returnees ID crisis is most visible at the Torkham crossing, a key gateway between the two countries where families arrive daily carrying whatever belongings they can manage, often with no paperwork to prove their identity in the country they are returning to.
Scale of the Afghan Returnees ID Crisis
According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 86 percent of the 6.1 million Afghans who have returned from Pakistan and Iran since late 2023 are currently listed as undocumented. This staggering figure lies at the heart of the Afghan returnees ID crisis, as officials scramble to register new arrivals while verifying identities for people who, in many cases, have never set foot in Afghanistan before.
Many of those crossing back were born and raised in Pakistan, some having lived there for decades or even generations. For younger returnees in particular, Afghanistan is an unfamiliar country, and the absence of an ID card compounds the difficulty of settling into a place they barely know.
Why Identity Documents Matter So Much
An identity card is far more than a formality in Afghanistan. It is required for accessing employment, enrolling children in school, proving ownership of land or property, claiming inheritance, accessing state benefits, and even passing through the many security checkpoints scattered across the country. Without it, returnees effectively become invisible to the systems meant to support them, a central concern driving the Afghan returnees ID crisis.
Aid officials working at transit centers along the border describe documentation as one of the most fundamental building blocks for reintegration. A regional coordinator overseeing migration support noted that returnees without valid identification face heightened risk of being administratively and socially excluded once they settle.
Voices From the Border
At registration tents near the crossing, families wait for hours in extreme heat to be processed, fingerprinted, and issued return certificates before continuing their journey. Some describe the experience as disorienting, having never previously lived in Afghanistan and having little understanding of the bureaucratic steps required to obtain documentation.
Elderly returnees face similar struggles. Some have described selling household belongings simply to cover the modest fees associated with processing new identity documents for their families, highlighting how the Afghan returnees ID crisis carries real financial costs on top of logistical ones.
International Response to the Afghan Returnees ID Crisis
Recognizing the scale of the problem, the United Nations launched an initiative in June aimed at helping Afghans obtain 1.5 million identity documents over the next three years. The program is intended to directly address the Afghan returnees ID crisis by streamlining access to documentation for families who might otherwise remain excluded from essential services indefinitely.
A senior UNHCR representative in Kabul has described the lack of documentation among returnees as a largely overlooked but deeply consequential problem, one that significantly hampers people’s ability to move forward with their lives. The timing of this appeal is notable, as it comes amid broader cuts to international aid funding for Afghanistan, meaning returnees are arriving in a country where jobs are scarce and support systems are already stretched thin.
For more detail on international efforts addressing displacement and documentation gaps, resources from the UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration provide ongoing updates on humanitarian response programs in the region.
Broader Context Behind the Repatriation Wave
The scale of return migration driving the Afghan returnees ID crisis stems from Pakistan’s ongoing repatriation drive targeting undocumented Afghan nationals, which has prompted a steady flow of families back across the border over the past two years. Many of those returning are second or third-generation residents of Pakistan, meaning their ties to Afghanistan are largely inherited rather than lived experience.
Compounding the challenge, the border region has also been affected by recent tensions between the two neighboring countries, with infrastructure at some crossings still bearing visible damage from earlier conflict. This has added logistical strain to an already overwhelmed processing system.
Potential Impact and What Comes Next
If left unaddressed, the Afghan returnees ID crisis could have long-term consequences for social stability and economic integration within Afghanistan. Undocumented individuals are less likely to access formal employment, enroll children in school, or claim property rights, potentially deepening cycles of poverty and marginalization among an already vulnerable population.
Humanitarian organizations argue that swift, coordinated action between the Afghan government, international agencies, and local authorities will be essential to prevent millions of returnees from falling through the cracks. The success of the UN’s new documentation initiative may serve as an important test case for how effectively the crisis can be managed in the coming years.
Read Also: Pakistan Undocumented Afghans Face Arrest as New Deadline Looms
Conclusion
The Afghan returnees ID crisis highlights a often-overlooked dimension of mass repatriation: the paperwork required to simply exist within a formal state system. As millions continue to cross back into Afghanistan, the urgency to close this documentation gap grows, not just as a bureaucratic necessity, but as a matter of basic dignity and opportunity for families rebuilding their lives from scratch.