As Afghans living illegally in Iran and Pakistan come under increased risk of deportation, soldiers who fought against the now-ruling Taliban fear a return to their homeland will mean certain death.
Tens of thousands of former members of the Afghan National Security Forces -- which included the former government's army, special forces, national police, and intelligence service -- fled to neighboring countries as the Taliban seized power in August 2021.
There they joined the millions of Afghans who have settled in Pakistan and Iran over the past four decades of war, poverty, and political upheaval in Afghanistan.
In recent weeks, however, Pakistan has made good on its order for 1.7 million Afghans in the country without proper documentation to leave by November 1. The measure has spurred over 300,000 people to return to Afghanistan and has been followed up by police roundups and forced deportations.
SEE ALSO: Complaints Of Abuse Grow As Pakistan Ramps Up Afghan ExpulsionsIran, meanwhile, has been taking its own hard line against Afghans living illegally in the country. In recent weeks, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi has twice stated that those who lack legal status will be sent back to Afghanistan. The threat affects around 4.5 million Afghans who live in Iran, most of them seeking refuge and temporary work.
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Thousands Of Desperate Afghans Make Risky Journeys Into Iran To Find Work
Fahim, a former Afghan soldier living in Pakistan, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi that he feared deportation and a return to Afghanistan.
"The Pakistani government has taken its measures seriously and our visas have expired," he said. "We are deportees. There is no guarantee [of safety] from the Islamic Emirate [the Taliban government] for members of the military, and I'm very worried."
While the Taliban offered a general amnesty to members of the Afghan military, police, and bureaucrats shortly after its return to power, international rights watchdogs and the United Nations have documented widespread cases of retribution -- including extrajudicial killings and torture -- against those who worked with the former Afghan government.
In a report issued in August, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said the Taliban was responsible for at least 218 extrajudicial killings, 14 enforced disappearances, over 144 instances of torture and ill-treatment, and 424 arbitrary arrests and detentions of former government officials and members of the armed forces from August 15, 2021, to June 30.
By some accounts, some 30,000 Afghan soldiers fled to Iran to escape the risk of being hunted down by the Taliban.
SEE ALSO: Afghans Battle Red Tape, Taliban In Hope Of Evacuation To United StatesFawad, a former Afghan soldier who now lives in Iran, left his homeland due to security concerns. Now he fears the prospect of facing that threat again. "There were threats in Afghanistan," he said, describing efforts by the Taliban to capture ex-military members. "They came to specific addresses several times to find us."
Fawad says he and other Afghan soldiers are worried about being deported, saying that "we face a serious threat in Afghanistan."
Many former Afghan soldiers who remain in Afghanistan live in hiding, regularly moving from place to place, to avoid Taliban detection.
A former Afghan special-forces commander collects garbage in Iran in 2022 after fleeing Afghanistan.
Military officials from the ousted Afghan government have stressed the seriousness of the situation and have called on former allies and the UN to take steps to protect members of the former Afghan security forces.
"One hundred percent, their lives and their families are in danger," General Farid Ahmadi, a former special-forces commander, told Radio Azadi. "Currently, thousands of their former comrades are in Taliban prisons. There is no news of their fate."
Many ex-Afghan security personnel accuse Western countries of abandoning them after the Taliban takeover.
Ahmadi said that the "United Nations and the United States and the United Kingdom, who worked with them in the fight against terrorism, should not be indifferent to the fate of [security force members'] families."
The Taliban did not respond to Radio Azadi's requests for comment.