Iran’s brutal deportation of Afghan refugees – Southasia Weekly #75

This week in Himal

This week, Zahra Nader writes about the escalating deportations of Afghan refugees in Iran, with Afghans navigating growing hostility, systemic neglect and violence while being forcibly returned to Afghanistan, where they face an uncertain future under Taliban rule. 

Don't miss Sreyarth Krishna's article on the power of speculative and science fiction as instruments of the anti-caste struggle in Southasia. 

Indian historian Irfan Habib speaks to Harsh Mander about the decay of socialism and secularism and the Hindu Right’s project of rewriting Indian history in episode 7 of ‘Partition of the Heart: Conversations with Harsh Mander.’

This week in Southasia

Massive UK data breach left 33,000 Afghans vulnerable to Taliban reprisal

On 15 July, UK Defence Secretary John Healey revealed that the UK secretly resettled thousands of Afghans after a British soldier leaked their personal details, for fear they might be targeted by the Taliban. The breach occurred in February 2022 when a spreadsheet containing details of around 33,000 Afghans who had applied for relocation to the UK after the 2021 Taliban takeover was forwarded to the wrong email. Most of the Afghans on the list had worked as translators, assistants or in other capacities for the British military in Afghanistan and were vulnerable to Taliban reprisal. A Ministry of Defence-commissioned review said that more than 16,000 Afghans affected by the breach had been relocated to the UK as of May 2025, at a cost of GBP 400 million, with more expected in the near future. 

The British response to the data breach was marked by delays and a lack of transparency thanks to a rare court order that stopped the leak from becoming public until this week. It also highlights how careless foreign government intervention in Afghanistan has deeply impacted Afghan lives, reviving memories of US forces’ hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 which left many Afghans who worked with the US stranded, with US President Donald Trump’s pause on US refugee admissions continuing to leave Afghan refugees in limbo. The leak underscores the urgent need for reforms to support refugees’ privacy and welfare. 

From the archive (October 2023)

On 11 July, Saima Wazed, the regional director for the World Health Organization’s South East Asia regional office was placed on leave, four months after Bangladesh’s Anti Corruption Commission filed two cases against her for fraud, forgery and misuse of power. Wazed came under public scrutiny when she was first appointed to the post with allegations that her mother, Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, had used influence in order to ensure that Wazed would receive the post. In light of this, Disha Shetty’s article from October 2023 is worth rereading.