Over 700 Afghan refugees return home from Iran

The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations of Afghanistan has reported the return of more than 700 Afghan refugees from Iran.

According to a statement posted on the social media platform X, the Ministry said on Monday that around 774 Afghan refugees have entered Afghanistan through the Islam Qala border crossing in Herat province.

Out of the 774 returnees, about 622 people have been referred to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) office for assistance, Islam Qala border post’s officer said.

It has not been specified whether the Afghan returnees returned to their homeland by their own choice or were compelled to do so through deportation by Iranian authorities.

The Ministry had previously reported that approximately 2,589 Afghan refugees had returned from Iran to Afghanistan.

This comes amidst instances where Afghan migrants in Pakistan and Iran have been detained, deported, and mistreated due to a lack of legal residency documents. In many cases, these actions were carried out by the authorities of these countries.

Furthermore, despite the severe humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and the escalating
poverty levels driving increased migration, challenges in terms of unemployment and residency issues in neighbouring countries have prompted some migrants to return to Afghanistan voluntarily.

Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, most of the Afghans have sought migration due to security reasons, prosecution, lack of job opportunities and economic deterioration amid a dire humanitarian crisis in the country.

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