Afghan refugees: Journey home ends in tragedy: Truck carrying Afghan refugees from Pakistan overturns, killing 22

A truck carrying Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan overturned on a highway in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing at least 22 people, including 10 children and five women, and injuring about 36 others, officials said.The accident occurred on the main highway connecting Kabul and Nangarhar provinces in Laghman province.Provincial Health Minister Aminullah Sharif said the truck driver fell into the ditch after falling asleep, the Associated Press reported.Abdul Malik Niyazai, spokesman for the governor of Laghman, said the injured had been transferred to a hospital in neighboring Nangarhar province for treatment.Most victims are women and children.

Refugees returning from Pakistan

The passengers were among thousands of Afghans returning from Pakistan. Pakistan launched a crackdown on undocumented immigrants in 2023 and has since deported or forced many Afghans to leave.Iran has also stepped up its deportations of Afghan immigrants.Millions of Afghans have returned from the two neighboring countries in recent years, many of them born in Pakistan and living and working there for decades.The accident occurred on the road connecting Jalalabad to Kabul. Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said he was “deeply saddened” by the tragedy and prayed for a speedy recovery for the injured.Some 447,400 Afghans have returned from Pakistan so far this year, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration.Traffic accidents are common in Afghanistan, with poor road conditions, poor enforcement of laws and dangerous driving behavior often leading to fatal accidents.In a separate incident in Nuristan province on Friday night, a car veered off the road and plunged into a river, injuring the driver and leaving four passengers missing, according to local authorities.Rescue teams continued their search operations on Saturday.The latest tragedy came just months after a bus carrying Afghan migrants returning from Iran collided with two other vehicles in western Afghanistan in August, killing 78 people, including 19 children.