Turkey detains more than 42,000 illegal Afghans this year

KABUL (Pajhwok): Turkey detained 152,000 undocumented migrants during the past one year, with Afghans making up the largest group, the country’s Migration Authority said.

According to the Turkey Migration Authority’s statement, more than 152,000 illegal migrants were detained in the country since the beginning of 2025, including more than 42,000 Afghans.

After Afghans, the most arrested people in the country were citizens of Syria, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Iran.

According to a new investigation by the BBC, Afghan refugees currently live in more than 100 countries around the world and their registered number exceeds six million.

These figures were compiled based on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and official censuses of various countries.

The study said that Iran, Pakistan, and Germany are the largest host countries for Afghan refugees.

The report said that there are approximately two and a half million registered Afghans living in Iran, but Iranian officials say the actual number is higher.

After Iran, Pakistan hosts approximately 1.7 million Afghan refugees.

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