TEHRAN (SW): Abdullah Abdullah, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), in his meeting with Hassan Rohani, President of Islamic Republic of Iran, on Tuesday, said that Afghan refugees in Iran are an asset for Afghanistan and the government would spare no efforts to pave way for their return to their country.
Thanking Iran’s hospitability over the past 40 years in this regard, Abdullah said that Afghanistan would support the documentation of Afghan refugees there. Abdullah also said that considering the hardships and miseries the refugees have gone through in Iran, their stay would further get extended.
A statement released by the Chief Executive Office has said that the Afghan delegation visiting Iran also met with the representatives of the refugee community and promised them to facilitate for their smooth return to Afghanistan. In this meeting, students and businessmen at the Afghanistan Embassy in Iran shared their problems they are faced with in Iran.
The Afghan Diaspora asked Abdullah to ensure criminal cases of Afghan prisoners in Iran are shifted to Afghanistan and also extend the stay of family members of the refugees from six months to one year.
Hassan Rohani also acknowledge that the ups and downs in Afghanistan has forced people to seek refuge in Iran since the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. He added that a number of educated refugee families could be considered as human resource for Afghanistan. He wished that one day they would render service to their own country.
It has been a while since Afghans have been complaining about their difficult situation in Iran and inappropriate behavior of Iranian officials towards them. Iran has always made promise to bring changes to their behavior towards Afghan refugees but it is never clear when these promises are realized or fully kept.
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