Truck Overturns in Afghanistan, Killing 18 and Injuring 35

A truck carrying Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan overturned on a highway in Laghman province on Saturday, killing at least 18 people and injuring 35 others, most of them women and children. The accident occurred on the main highway linking Kabul with Nangarhar province, said Abdul Malik Niazai, the spokesperson for the provincial governor.

Among the dead were 10 children and five women, he said.

The injured were taken to hospitals in Nangarhar for medical treatment. Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government spokesperson, expressed sorrow over the incident and offered condolences to the victims’ families. The passengers were among thousands of Afghans recently returned from Pakistan after a crackdown on undocumented migrants that began in 2023.

Pakistan has deported or pressured many to leave since then. Iran also intensified expulsions of Afghan migrants around the same time. Since 2023, millions of Afghans have returned home from Pakistan and Iran, including many who were born in Pakistan and had spent decades living and working there.

Traffic accidents are common across Afghanistan, where roads are poorly maintained and drivers routinely ignore traffic regulations.