KABUL: More than 12,000 Afghan refugees were forcibly repatriated from Iran and Pakistan on Sunday, a top Taliban official revealed on Monday.
While sharing the High Commission for Addressing Migrants' Issues report on X, Taliban Deputy Spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat revealed that 2194 families, comprising 12,666 people, returned home on Sunday, Afghanistan-based Pajhwok Afghan News reported.
He said that the Afghan returnees returned to the country through Pul-i-Abresham in Nimroz, Spin Boldak in Kandahar, Bahramcha in Helmand, Islam Qala crossing in Herat and the Torkham crossing in Nangarhar.
Fitrat noted that 1609 Afghan refugee families, comprising 10,533 people, have been taken to their home areas while 1966 others were provided humanitarian assistance. He further stated that telecommunication companies provided 1665 SIM cards to Afghan refugees.
As many as 12,455 Afghan refugees also returned to Afghanistan after being forcibly deported from Iran and Pakistan on Saturday.
"A large number of Afghan refugees, including children, women, and the elderly, have been held in Pakistani detention centres for over 15 days, living in extremely harsh conditions," Afghanistan's leading media outlet TOLO News quoted Atiqullah Mansoor, an Afghan refugee in Pakistan, as saying.
"Winter has already started. Many of the remaining homes of Afghan refugees here have been demolished. We urge the Pakistani government to stop destroying the rest of the homes, because otherwise, refugees will be left without shelter and with nowhere to go. On top of that, the government has warned locals not to rent homes to Afghan refugees, or they will face legal consequences," said another Afghan refugee in Pakistan. (IANS)
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