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Kabul: Since September 2023, about 1.2 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan, many in appalling circumstances, according to the UNHCR, which warned of a deepening humanitarian catastrophe if immediate assistance is not given, Khaama Press said.

Nearly 1.2 million Afghan migrants returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan between September 15, 2023, and June 30, 2025, according to a UNHCR study issued Thursday.

According to Khaama Press, after their return, more than 156,000 returnees—including 98,000 registered cardholders—have benefited from humanitarian aid.

According to the UN organization, over 2.2 percent of all returnees are persons with disabilities, and women and girls make up almost half of those getting help.

The UNHCR said that 51,000 Afghans who had been forcefully deported by Pakistani officials were among the more than 315,000 who returned in 2025 alone.

The long-term status of over two million Afghan refugees who have been in Pakistan for decades is in jeopardy due to growing political and security challenges, according to Khaama Press.

“Many returnees face bleak conditions, lacking proper housing, jobs, and access to essential services in an already fragile Afghanistan,” the UN Refugee Agency said.

The international world and Afghan government have been asked by aid organizations to provide aid, stating that “without sustained help, the wave of returns could deepen Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis,” according to Khaama Press.

The continuing food crisis in Afghanistan exacerbates this worry. According to a report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Afghanistan remains at the top of the list of nations experiencing severe food insecurity, with over 12 million people in urgent need of food assistance and 75% of the population experiencing livelihood instability, Khaama Press reported.

According to the July 30 study, 295 million people in 53 countries are now suffering from acute hunger, which is a 13 million rise from 2023. The worst-hit countries are still Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Congo, Syria, and Yemen.

Due to a confluence of political unrest, humanitarian crises, and climate change, Afghanistan has been regularly included on the FAO’s chronic hunger list since 2016, according to Khaama Press.

According to the FAO, “widespread poverty remains one of the main drivers of Afghanistan’s worsening food insecurity,” as millions of people fall further below the poverty line as a result of the repatriation of more than 1.6 million migrants from Iran and Pakistan, dwindling foreign assistance, and harsh economic restrictions.

“According to the UN, 75 percent of Afghanistan’s population faces livelihood insecurity, and over 12 million people urgently need food assistance,” the study said.

Afghanistan’s ability to produce food domestically has been severely weakened by a series of droughts, high unemployment, and devastated agricultural infrastructure, according to Khaama Press.

According to the research, protracted droughts have “destroyed crops and disrupted livestock farming — the main source of rural income” in regions like Ghor and Badakhshan.

The FAO noted that women and children are especially at risk. “Restrictions by the Taliban on women’s work and education have further cut families off from critical income sources,” it said.

Additionally, the World Food Programme (WFP) has issued a warning about deteriorating circumstances. “Without increased humanitarian aid, hunger-related deaths in Afghanistan will continue to rise sharply,” the World Food Program said.

As reported by Khaama Press, FAO experts describe the food crisis in Afghanistan as the consequence of a “dangerous mix of conflict, climate shocks, and collapsing livelihoods.”

The international world is being urged to take action by aid organizations. “Without sustained funding and access for relief operations, Afghanistan risks spiraling into one of the world’s worst hunger disasters,” the conclusion of the research states.