KABUL (SW): The numbers of Afghan refugees returning from Iran are on the rise, officials at the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriates (MoRR) informed on Wednesday.
Hafeez Ahmad Miakhail, adviser for media affairs at the MoRR, informed Salam Watandar that the number of repatriates from Iran is up to 70 per cent higher than those coming back from Pakistan. He said the main reason for this is the fact that the Iranian government is not allowing to extend the Afghan refugees' stay there.
He said last year up to 110, 000 refugees returned from Pakistan and Iran, but this year the figures are slightly low. He said up to 13,000 refugees are returning every week from these two neighboring countries these days.
Miakhail informed that the Islam Qala crossing point with Iran in Herat has been closed for returning refugees for quite some time now forcing them to come back via Nimroz that costs extra fortune and effort. He informed that the issue has been discussed with relevant authorities in Iran and Afghanistan.
There have been reports about Afghan refugees complaining against persecution by Iranian police and border guards that leed to the travel cost soar up to a million Iranian toman.
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