Kabul, July 25 (IANS) A total of 14,539 Afghan refugee families, totalling 97,277 individuals, returned to their homeland, Afghanistan, from the neighbouring countries of Pakistan and Iran over the past month, the deputy spokesman for the Afghan government announced on Saturday.
The returnees entered Afghanistan through the Islam Qala border in western Herat province, the Torkham crossing point in eastern Nangarhar province, Spin Boldak in southern Kandahar province, Pul-e-Abresham in western Nimroz province, and Bahramcha in southern Helmand province, Hamdullah Fitrat posted on his X account.
All returning families have received immediate assistance, including food, drinking water, healthcare services, and free transportation to their destinations, the official added.
The majority of the former refugees have returned from Pakistan, Fitrat asserted.
More than 8 million Afghan refugees, according to Afghan officials, have returned to their country since the current Afghan government took over power in August 2021, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Last week, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced that India has handed over family tents for Afghan returnees as part of its continued humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.
“As part of India’s continued humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan, India has handed over family tents to the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation (MoRR) to support the shelter and rehabilitation needs of Afghan returnees,” the MEA wrote on X.
Afghanistan has been witnessing a large number of returnees, especially from Pakistan, as Islamabad has ramped up measures to repatriate refugees and undocumented migrants.
According to reports, an enforcement drive has begun following the expiry of the July 10 deadline for Afghans without valid visas to leave voluntarily.
Figures obtained from the Hamza Baba transit point in Landi Kotal showed a significant increase in the number of Afghan refugees returning in recent days. According to officials at the transit point, the number of returnees has exceeded 10,000 daily since Pakistan ordered all Afghan nationals in the country to return to Afghanistan, Pakistan’s daily Dawn reported.
–IANS
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