Kabul, June 26: Over 30,000 Afghan refugees returned home from Iran through the Islam Qala border crossing in western Herat, marking one of the largest mass returns recently, according to a local official.
Following this massive wave of returns, all necessary supplies, including water, food, and immediate medical care, have been provided to the returnees, said Mawlawi Ahmadullah Muttaqi, provincial director of the Information and Culture Department.
Afghanistan shares two key border crossing points with Iran, one in western Herat province and the other in Nimroz province. Recently, both crossings have witnessed a sharp increase in the number of returning refugees.
An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 individuals and around 300 families are returning to Afghanistan each day through the Pul-e-Abresham border crossing in Nimroz province, the provincial director of refugees and repatriation told Xinhua last week.
Nearly 7 million Afghan refugees, most of whom are undocumented migrants, are currently living abroad, with the most in Iran and Pakistan, Xinhua news agency reported. On Wednesday, a total of 1,685 Afghan families with 7,474 members returned to their homeland from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan, Afghanistan’s High Commission for Addressing Returnees’ Problems said.
The refugees came home via the Torkham border, crossing in eastern Nangarhar province, the Spin Boldak border, crossing in southern Kandahar province, the Islam Qala border, crossing in western Herat province, and the Pul-e-Abresham border, crossing in western Nimroz province, it said. The commission provides temporary shelters, nourishment, water, medical care, and transportation services to their respective provinces for the returnees. The authorities of both countries have asked undocumented foreign nationals to end their illegal stay and return to their homes.
The Taliban regime has been repeatedly calling upon Afghan refugees to end living abroad as refugees and return home to contribute to the rebuilding of their war-torn homeland. Earlier on June 22, local media outlet Tolonews reported that around 10,000 Afghan refugees were leaving Iran daily to return to their homeland amid war and insecurity in the Middle Eastern country.
“Recently, due to war and insecurity in Iran, the return of refugees from the country has increased. Between 8,000 to 10,000 individuals are returning daily via the Islam Qala crossing point in western Herat province,” the report quoted Abdul Rahim Rahmani, deputy director of Border Affairs for Returnees and Refugees at the Islam Qala crossing point, as saying. Meanwhile, thousands of Afghan refugees — probably between 2,000 to 3,000 individuals and around 300 families — are also returning to their homeland via Nimroz province, according to local officials.
IANS
