Concerns about the massive crowd of migrants at the borders; 576,000 migrants returned in 20 days

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Kabul: Abdul Muttalib Haqqani, spokesman for the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriates of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, in an interview with AVA, said that a total of 555,874 people from Iran and Pakistan returned from neighboring countries. 444 people have also returned from Turkey.

 

"For these refugees returning from neighboring countries, basic assistance has been provided and the ministry is trying to provide more services to the refugees in cooperation with other aid agencies," Haqqani said.

 

He pointed to the establishment of temporary camps, the provision of food, plans for education and the establishment of a special committee to solve the problems of refugees.

 

The spokesman of the Ministry of Refugees expressed concern over the videos published in cyberspace about the harassment of Afghan refugees in Iran and called on the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to investigate the authenticity of these videos and prevent any action that would cause division between the two nations and countries.

 

Haqqani's announcement comes as the High Commission for Refugees said on Monday that 505,389 Afghan returnees had entered the country from Iran in the past 19 days. Of these, 212,322 were forcibly returned and 293,670 were voluntarily returned. The commission said 32,738 returnees arrived in the country on Thursday alone.

 

Pakistan continues to deport undocumented migrants

Pakistan continues to detain and deport undocumented migrants from Iran as the wave of undocumented migrants is deported.

 

Abdullah Mohammadi, a member of the Refugee Council in Pakistan, said in an interview with Ava that the harassment of Afghan refugees in the country has decreased and that the situation of refugees is generally good in Pakistan, but there is still detention and forced deportation of those without residence documents.

 

According to Mohammadi, those who leave Pakistan voluntarily have no problems and can transfer all their capital and assets, but if they delay and ignore the warnings of the Pakistani government, they may fall into the hands of the police and not be able to transfer their assets due to time constraints.

 

In response to the role of the Refugee Council in such circumstances, he said: Governments care about their national interests above all else and make decisions according to those interests. Although the Refugee Council has made efforts to address refugees, it cannot change the decision of the Pakistani government because it is not an official body.

 

Mohammadi's remarks come as Maulvi Takhari, the consul general of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in Karachi, met with Maulvi Abdul Kabir, the acting head of the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriates, on Monday to announce the release of 4,500 Afghan citizens from Karachi detention centers and the mistreatment of Afghan refugees in the city. dropped.

 

Mr. Takhari also announced that the consulate in Karachi has established a special committee to address the problems of migrants, which has been able to investigate and resolve a large part of the problems of Afghan citizens.

 

Maulvi Abdul Kabir also appreciated the efforts of the diplomats of the interim government in Pakistan and stressed that the ministry will work in coordination with relevant institutions to solve the problems of Afghan refugees in different countries, including Pakistan.

 

The number of Afghan returnees from neighboring countries, especially Iran and Pakistan, has increased as Arafat Jamal, the UNHCR's representative in Afghanistan, told a news conference that the number of Afghan returnees would reach three million by the end of 2025.

 

He added that since the beginning of this year, more than 1.6 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan and Iran, of which 1.3 million were from Iran. Arafat Jamal stressed that more than 30,000 people enter Afghanistan daily from the Islam Qala border, which will exacerbate the humanitarian crisis; Because Afghanistan is generally not ready to accept this volume of returnees.