Tajikistan launches fresh deportation wave against Afghan refugees
Afghans in Tajikistan face rising fear, detentions, and forced returns following mass SMS warnings and military-led raids
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan (MNTV) — Afghan refugees in Tajikistan are living in fear as authorities launch a new and larger wave of deportations, forcing many into hiding and sparking alarm among human rights observers.
The crackdown began in early July, when many Afghans reportedly received text messages warning them to leave within 15 days or face forced deportation. Though Tajik authorities have remained silent on the origin of the messages, arrests soon followed in areas with large Afghan populations.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, Ozodi, reported that detentions have been concentrated in the Rudaki district outside Dushanbe and the nearby town of Vahdat, home to hundreds of Afghan asylum-seekers. Journalists attempting to reach refugee households in Vahdat were blocked by men in military uniforms.
On July 15, several vans arrived in Vahdat and took away dozens of Afghan men, women, and children, refugees told reporters anonymously. “For more than 20 days we have practically not stepped outside at all,” said one Afghan, describing how police often seize documents and issue deportation deadlines.
Local Tajik residents confirmed that Afghans were being taken away and that others were urgently seeking new shelters to avoid detection.
Tajik authorities broke their silence only on July 19, when state agency Khovar published a statement from the Press Center of the Border Troops. The statement vaguely claimed that “foreign citizens” had entered the country illegally, with some allegedly involved in drug trafficking, extremism, or falsifying documents to obtain refugee status.
As of late 2024, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recorded 9,902 registered Afghan refugees in Tajikistan. However, unofficial estimates suggest the actual number could exceed 13,000. Many have fled Afghanistan over the past two decades, especially from areas near the Tajik border heavily populated by ethnic Tajiks.
Some Afghan arrivals from 10–15 years ago have integrated into Tajik society but may still lack citizenship or formal refugee status, leaving them vulnerable to sudden deportation.
The scale of the current sweep remains unclear, but Afghan refugees say this is the most aggressive wave of expulsions in recent memory.
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