Afghan returnees strain jobs and housing after deportations

More than six million Afghans have returned from Iran and Pakistan in a little over three years, increasing pressure on jobs, housing and water in parts of Afghanistan.

In Jawzjan province in northern Afghanistan, labourers in the capital Sheberghan said work has become harder to find as returnees spread across the country to areas where they or their relatives once lived.

Ghulam Sakhi Barat, an 83-year-old labourer supporting seven relatives, said local people were going hungry and receiving less help than returnees. Abdul Qader Hotak, 60, said he was deported from Pakistan after two decades and that his children now collect rubbish to earn money.

The United Nations projects that the population of Aqcha district in Jawzjan will rise by more than 26 percent because of the returns, with water becoming a critical flashpoint in the drought-hit area.

UN data shows 15.9 million Afghans, nearly one in three people, are facing crisis-level food insecurity or worse. Residents said rents have risen by as much as 150 percent in recent years, while one civil servant said his rent had doubled in 18 months.

Saifuddin Muhtasem, the provincial information director, said there were no unresolved issues facing local residents or returnees and said the government had created a national committee to control rents. He also said most of the province's water was now unfit for drinking or farming and called for international organisations to build homes for returnees.

The UN warned in September that sustained support is vital for both returnees and host communities, saying competition over scarce resources risks fuelling grievances, further displacement and instability.