Funding Crunch Forces UNHCR to Slash Vital Cash Aid for Afghan Returnees from Pakistan

ISLAMABAD – The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has announced a severe reduction in its cash assistance program for Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan, a direct result of a crippling global funding shortfall. The move will leave thousands of returnees without critical support as they face the daunting task of rebuilding their lives in an Afghanistan grappling with economic collapse and a dire humanitarian crisis.

A Targeted Approach Amidst Scarcity

In a statement released Saturday, the UNHCR’s Pakistan office confirmed it can no longer sustain blanket cash assistance for all returnees. Effective immediately, support will be restricted to what the agency calls “vulnerable families,” with a specific focus on those who hold Proof-of-Registration (PoR) cards. These cards are official documents issued by the Pakistani government to Afghan refugees who were legally registered in the country.

“The funding crisis has significantly slowed our humanitarian operations,” a UNHCR representative stated. “Under this new, targeted system, not every returning Afghan will receive support. We must prioritize those who are most at risk.”

The one-time cash grant, which has now been formally limited since Friday, is designed to help returnees cover immediate needs like rent, food, and transportation upon arrival in Afghanistan. The UNHCR acknowledged the “severe hardship” Afghan families are enduring and expressed hope that full aid could be restored if additional donor funding materializes.

A Crisis Within a Crisis: The Deportation Drive

This reduction in aid comes as Pakistan intensifies its campaign to deport undocumented Afghans. Authorities have accelerated the process, with one day this week seeing approximately 7,000 people expelled. Pakistan’s government has defended the action as a necessary measure for national security and to manage its struggling economy.

However, the policy has drawn sharp criticism from human rights organizations and UN experts. They warn that the mass, forced returns are exacerbating an already catastrophic humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, where millions are reliant on international aid to survive.

Broader Regional and International Concerns

The situation has escalated to the highest levels of global governance. The UN Security Council has recently expressed concern over the ongoing deportations from both Pakistan and Iran, stating that these movements are severely complicating the delivery of humanitarian aid inside Afghanistan.

The confluence of factors creates a perfect storm:

• For Returnees: Individuals and families, many of whom have lived in Pakistan for decades, are being uprooted and sent to a homeland they may barely know, with winter approaching and without the means to secure shelter or livelihood.

• For Afghanistan: The Taliban-led government, which remains internationally unrecognized and is subject to severe sanctions, is ill-equipped to absorb the influx of hundreds of thousands of returnees, straining already limited resources.

• For Aid Agencies: Organizations like UNHCR and the World Food Programme (WFP) are being stretched to the breaking point, forced to make impossible choices as donor fatigue sets in and global crises compete for limited funds.

The slashing of UNHCR’s cash assistance is a stark indicator of how funding shortfalls are directly translating into reduced support on the ground, leaving the most vulnerable populations to bear the heaviest burden of this complex and escalating crisis.

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