More than 3000 Afghan families were deported from Iran within a 24-hour period, according to the Taliban-run Bakhtar News Agency.

The agency reported on Monday, 30 June, that 3284 families were returned to Afghanistan, with 2510 crossing via the Islam Qala border and 652 through the Pul-e Abrisham crossing.

In addition, Bakhtar noted that 60 Afghan families returned from Pakistan via the Torkham border, while another 62 families entered through the Spin Boldak crossing.

The mass deportations come amid a sharp escalation in Iran’s removal of undocumented Afghan migrants. Last week, the governor of Taybad County in Iran’s Razavi Khorasan Province announced that more than 100000 Afghan nationals had been deported in a single week.

The surge in returns has heightened concerns among humanitarian organisations about the capacity of Afghan authorities and aid agencies to support the growing number of returnees.