BAREKAB, Afghanistan—A breakdown in Afghanistan’s relationship with Pakistan has driven a flood of Afghans living there to return, severely straining their war-ravaged homeland’s resources just as it is experiencing an escalation of violence.
Many of last year’s more than 600,000 returnees had lived in Pakistan for decades as refugees, both documented and undocumented, and have few local connections to assist in their resettlement.
The pressure on aid organizations—also dealing with more than half a million Afghans displaced internally by fighting in 2016—has left many returnees facing the harsh winter without any financial assistance.
