200,000 Afghans leave Pak since April deportation drive

More than 200,000 Afghans have left Pakistan since the government renewed a deportation drive in April, with Iran also stepping up expulsions of Afghans.

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Generations of Afghans have fled to neighbouring Pakistan and Iran during decades of successive wars, seeking safety and better economic opportunities.

Both governments have grown weary of large migrant populations and ordered millions to leave under the threat of arrest.

Pakistan has launched a strict campaign to evict more than 800,000 Afghans who have had their residence permits cancelled, including some who were born in the country or lived there for decades.

According to the interior ministry, more than 135,000 Afghans left Pakistan in April, while around 67,000 departed in May and more than 3,000 were sent back in the first two days of June.

The number of returnees has slowed ahead of the Eid Al Adha holiday later this week, but some Afghans were still crossing the main border points from Pakistan on Wednesday.

"We left behind our orchards" and livelihoods, 21-year-old farmer Mohammad Wali told AFP near the southern Spin Boldak crossing.

"But we said to ourselves, 'If we stay, maybe one day we'll lose our dignity,' so it's better to return to our homeland now."