Over 5,000 Afghan migrants return home from Pakistan and Iran
The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation of Afghanistan has reported that over 5,000 Afghan migrants have returned to their country due to the ongoing deportation trend from Pakistan and Iran.
On Thursday, the Ministry announced that approximately 5,179 immigrants from Pakistan and Iran had returned to the country.
The border official in Islam Qala Herat has stated that among these migrants, 3,591 individuals, including families, have entered the country both forcibly and voluntarily.
Furthermore, the Ministry has added that approximately 1,585 Afghan migrants returned to the country forcibly through the Spin Boldak border from Pakistan yesterday.
However, some migrants identified as vulnerable and needing assistance have been referred to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to receive aid.
Recently, many Afghan migrants in Pakistan and Iran have been detained due to the lack of legal residency documents and are often repatriated to Afghanistan.
Despite repeated requests from the United Nations and some Western countries in the past month for Pakistan and Iran to refrain from deporting Afghan migrants, these countries have remained firm in their decisions.
The Interior Minister of Pakistan, Sarfaraz Bugti, stated that there are no plans to extend the migrant expulsion deadline, addressing misconceptions in the Senate.
Sarfaraz Bugti emphasized, “We talked about expelling illegal residents, but the message was conveyed as if we were only expelling Afghans. The government’s message was not just for Afghans; it was for all illegal migrants.”
The Interior Minister of Pakistan confirmed that there is no current proposal to extend the migrant expulsion deadline, with any potential extension to be discussed by authorities if proposed.
The post Over 5,000 Afghan migrants return home from Pakistan and Iran appeared first on Khaama Press.