In 2025, more than 2.7 million Afghans returned to Afghanistan from neighboring countries. UN chief calls on Afghanistan and Pakistan to immediately stop fighting Peace and security
Amid reports that major cities in Afghanistan have been bombed by the Pakistani military as the conflict between the two countries escalates, the UN is raising concerns about the plight of civilians already living in dire conditions under Taliban rule.
The UN Secretary-General said he was deeply concerned about the escalation. Antonio Guterres called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and repeated his call for the two countries to “resolve any differences diplomatically.”
Fear of the future
A call for dialogue between Kabul and Islamabad was also made by the UN Human Rights Council’s independent expert on Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, who noted that growing tensions between the two countries are exacerbating difficulties for Afghans forced to return home from neighboring countries, including Pakistan.
“I was recently in Pakistan and talked to Afghans who are afraid of their future,” he said. “They believe that returning to Afghanistan not only means a life of poverty, but also for certain groups – human rights activists, journalists, former security forces – a real risk of violent retaliation. We have seen an increase in such cases in recent months.”
In recent years, Afghanistan has faced a massive return of its citizens – estimated at about 2.7 million in 2025 alone – from neighboring countries.
Pakistan’s defense minister said Friday that his country is in “open war” with Afghanistan. It comes after months of sporadic clashes along the border – despite a ceasefire declared in October.
Humanitarian difficulties
Bennett said a sharp escalation would only worsen the suffering of Afghans already facing catastrophic humanitarian conditions following the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021.
Health care is just one of the areas seriously affected by the harsh policies of the de facto authorities, whose decrees supposedly aimed at “strengthening religious virtue” are widely condemned outside the country as a form of gender apartheid.
“In many parts of the country, health care is segregated by gender, with women treated by women and men treated by men,” Bennett said. “ In the country as a whole, there is a reduction in the number of health workers – not only doctors, but also midwives, nurses, and all medical personnel.”
There is evidence that health restrictions are not applied equally strictly everywhere, but according to the expert, “the problem is not only in treatment, but also in getting to it – there are serious restrictions on freedom of movement.”
Bennett recalled that Afghanistan’s health system was fragile even before the Taliban came to power – after decades of war, poverty and chronic underfunding. Now, he stressed, there is a risk of “a full-blown health disaster, especially for women and girls.”