Nearly 50,000 Afghan kids forced to leave Pakistan in early April, aid group says
Nearly 50,000 Afghan children crossed from Pakistan into Afghanistan in the first half of April, following a deadline for undocumented Afghans to leave Pakistan, Amu TV reported citing Save the Children. This influx is part of a larger wave of returnees, with about 84,000 people crossing the border recently. Since September 2023, approximately 940,000 Afghans have returned from Pakistan, including 545,000 children—who make up 58% of returnees, with one in five under five years old.
Aid groups warn of severe risks facing these children amid Afghanistan’s ongoing humanitarian crisis, marked by displacement, poor infrastructure, and limited resources. Save the Children provides healthcare, nutrition, and sanitation support at a reception center in Kandahar.
A survey revealed nearly half of returning Afghan families face unemployment, and 81% lack skills for work. Nearly two-thirds of school-age children are not enrolled in school due to missing documentation, despite attending school in Pakistan.
Afghanistan hosts one of the world’s largest internally displaced populations, with one in seven people displaced. The UN estimates 23 million Afghans need humanitarian aid in 2025, including 15 million facing acute food insecurity and 3.5 million malnourished children.
Save the Children urges urgent international funding and long-term solutions to support displaced families, while calling on Pakistan to uphold protection obligations for vulnerable Afghans.
