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Tajikistan is forcing Afghan refugees to return home. For Christians, this could be a death sentence
Earlier this month, authorities in the Central Asian country of Tajikistan announced that Afghan refugees had to leave within 15 days—or face deportation back to Afghanistan. Unofficial estimates suggest that there are 10,000-13,000 Afghan refugees living in Tajikistan, many of whom fled after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021.
For Afghans who oppose the Taliban or who belong to minorities oppressed by the Taliban, this is devastating news. And Christians, who are one of the groups targeted by the Taliban, are among the people who will be affected.
The Taliban previously said they would kill any Christians living in the country and even went door-to-door to track down believers. Afghan church leaders were specifically targeted; many have disappeared, while others have been beaten, tortured and killed.
Following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, Afghanistan was No. 1 on Open Doors’ 2022 World Watch List, which ranks countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution and discrimination. On the 2025 World Watch List, Afghanistan ranks No. 10; the decline in ranking is mainly because the Taliban’s total control of the country has brought about a brutal sort of peace and driven all Christians underground.
Already, reports indicate that the government has already begun forcefully deporting Afghans. According to multiple sources, over 150 Afghans were rounded up from local markets and public areas this week and deported from the country; many of these Afghans have official refugee status from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
According to The Khamaa Press News Agency, among those deported are men, women, elderly individuals and minors under the age of 18. In many cases, families have been separated—children deported while their parents remain in Tajikistan, or spouses removed while their partners and children are left behind. The abrupt and aggressive nature of the deportations has caused widespread distress among the Afghan refugee community.
A few Christians were among those deported, while other believers were able to flee to another safer area.
According to an official statement from the State Committee for National Security of the Republic of Tajikistan: “A certain number of foreign citizens grossly violated the established requirements of stay. Also, during the inspection, the following evidence of violation of the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan by foreign citizens was revealed: illegal drug trafficking, incitement and propaganda of extremist movements, submission of false information and documents to obtain refugee status… In particular, the expulsion of a certain number of Afghan citizens from the country is also due to this.
“In this regard, measures to expel them from the territory of Tajikistan are currently being considered in accordance with the legislation of the republic.”
Tajikistan is only one of the nations that has been repatriating Afghan refugees. According to the UNHCR, more than a million Afghans have been returned from Pakistan following its “Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan”. Similarly around a million Afghans were forcibly returned from Iran in 2024 alone, according to UNHCR data.
“I really worry about the women who are deported: What future they will have?” says Jan de Vries, a Central Asia researcher for Open Doors. “And I think especially about the secret Christian believers that are currently being deported. They will have to hide themselves, even more than before. For Christians especially, this repatriation could put their lives at serious risk, as the Taliban is violently opposed to the existence of any believers in Afghanistan."
Despite the presence of the United Nations and other international advocacy organizations in Tajikistan, their influence appears limited. The Tajik government has largely ignored calls for compliance with international treaties and refugee protection standards, raising concerns about the effectiveness of international oversight and the lack of accountability in ongoing deportations.
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