increasing expulsion of immigrants and cutting institutional budgets; Of the 60,000 returnees, 18,000 were forced

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Kabul: The delegation to attract aid to refugees and returnees today (Sunday, April 13) during a meeting with representatives of various domestic departments and international organizations in the Ministry of Economy, demanded the continuation of aid for refugees and returnees.

 

Qari Din Mohammad Hanif, acting minister of economy and head of the delegation, expressed concern over the increasing deportation of Afghan refugees from neighboring countries, calling it against the Islamic spirit, brotherhood and neighborliness.

 

 

According to him, following this process, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has taken preliminary measures to welcome and take care of the returned refugees.

 

These committees include the Transportation Committee for the Relocation of Refugees, the Food Services Committee, the Cash Committee for Financial Assistance, and the Job Search Committee under the supervision of the Ministry of Labor.

 

The acting economy minister added that the structure was established last year to manage the process of voluntary return of migrants from the Torkham and Spin Boldak border crossings, but now with the increase in forced deportations, its activities have expanded.

 

He added that 820 families (about 5,000 people) were deported from Pakistan to Afghanistan yesterday, while many of the men and women of these families remained separately in Pakistan.

 

Qari Hanif said many migrants who have lived in Pakistan for years are not familiar with the national language and are even unaware of their home province and district.

 

He called on domestic and international organizations to provide necessary support in the current situation as they have done in the past in the field of refugees and natural disasters. He also stressed that the recruitment delegation has full authority to provide services to returning migrants and taking care of them is one of the main priorities of the Islamic Emirate.

 

Meanwhile, the acting economy minister expressed concern over the reduction in aid from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and called for an increase. He said the organization had supported 850 families a month, which is a limited number.

 

There are currently about three million Afghan migrants in Pakistan, of which 1.4 million have M&A cards, 800,000 have IC cards and about 800,000 do not have any documents or cards, said Andrika, a representative of the RC/HC.

 

 

He said negotiations had been held with the Afghan Ministry of Refugees, according to which 17 sites inside the country had been allocated to accommodate these refugees to provide them with better living conditions.

 

The RC/HC representative stressed that the organization, in collaboration with international organizations and its implementing partners, is working to develop a comprehensive plan for accommodation and assistance to refugees by the end of this month and share it with other organizations.

 

He added that according to the agency's vision, there is currently a readiness to provide assistance to 600,000 people and if the number of returnees increases, this capacity could be increased to 1.5 million.

 

"The post-return phase of refugees, their integration into society, is very difficult and requires extensive cooperation from all institutions," he added.

 

Meanwhile, Arafat Jamal, representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said the agency was fully prepared to provide assistance to Afghan refugees being deported from Iran and Pakistan.