Neil Turner, the country director of the Norwegian Refugee Council in Afghanistan, expressed concerns over the situation of the Afghan refugees deported by Pakistan amid the onset of winter.

Turner told TOLOnews that the NRC has helped around 75,000 Afghan refugees deported from Pakistan.

“The NRC has managed to assist 75,000 people with legal assistance, advice on civil documentation and looking at the prospects for employment because this is one the things that we are most concerned about,” he said.

“We are also concerned because those coming are not able easily to move on to areas in Afghanistan that they want to go to, so there is a possibility that there will be a buildup in makeshift camp arrangements close to the border [Durand Line],” he added.

The families who have been evacuated from Pakistan are facing dire conditions amid cold weather.

Zarmina, 40, who stayed in Pakistan for 20 years and was recently deported, said that she is facing an uncertain future.

“We have many problems here. The weather is too cold. My children were affected by the cold in the tent. We want to have a shelter,” she said.
“We don’t have a proper place for living. We have nothing,” said Pacha Mahajar, a deportee.

“We want them to help us and address our problems,” said Khan Agha, a deportee.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in a report said that 1.3 million Afghans have been forced to leave Pakistan.