The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reported that more than 230,000 Afghan migrants have returned to the country from Iran over the past month.

According to the report, this is the highest number of returnees recorded from Iran to Afghanistan this year.

The report stated that this marks a significant increase in returnees, surpassing the previous high in May, when just over 190,000 Afghans returned,

Of the total returnees in September, 43 percent were deported, while 50 percent returned voluntarily, according to the IOM’s report.

“Inflows from the Islamic Republic of Iran make up nearly three-quarters of the total, with approximately 91,000 Afghans entering the country this week alone,” the IOM stated. In comparison, inflows from Pakistan accounted for just 29 percent.

However, Afghan immigrants who do not have residence documents are prohibited from working in some provinces of Iran.

Recently, head of Eslamshahr city's Labor Behnam Emami ordered that no immigrants without documents should be employed and only immigrants with documents can be recruited for hard jobs.

The forced deportation of Afghan refugees from Iran and Pakistan has been going on for a long time, but it has recently increased

According to experts, the Afghan government needs to deal with the problems of immigrants through diplomatic means.

Earlier, Iran's interior minister said that his country is no longer able to accept Afghan citizens and emphasized that deporting "illegal" immigrants is one of the country's priorities.

The Islamic Emirate, meanwhile, has repeatedly asked the governments of Iran and Pakistan to deal with Afghan immigrants in accordance with international laws and good neighborliness.

Authorities in Pakistan sealed off the capital, Islamabad, and blocked cellphone services on Friday to prevent an anti-government rally by supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, officials said.

It would be the latest in a series of protest rallies since last month to press for Khan's release and agitate against the ruling coalition government, which the party calls illegitimate, saying it was formed after a fraudulent election, Reuters reported.

Shipping containers have been placed to block Islamabad's entry and exit points, guarded by large numbers of police and paramilitary troops, the officials said, while police banned any gathering in the capital.

"If someone plans to storm Islamabad, we wouldn't let that happen," Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told a news conference late on Thursday.

He urged Khan's party to shift the rally to later dates, to avoid disrupting Islamabad's preparations to host a meeting of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) on Oct. 15 and Oct. 16.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is visiting, to be followed by a high-profile Saudi delegation and Chinese Premier Li Qiang ahead of the conference, Naqvi said, adding, "We can't allow any chaos."

Any agitation in the capital would not send a good signal to the world ahead of the conference, Naqvi said.

Disregarding the appeal, Khan asked his supporters to gather outside parliament regardless of obstacles.

"I want you all to reach D-Chowk today for a peaceful protest rally," he posted on X on Friday, referring to a spot outside parliament. "This war has entered a decisive phase."

Even though Khan has been in jail since Aug 2023, candidates backed by him won the most seats in February's general election, though their numbers were insufficient to form a government.

His opponents, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, formed a coalition government instead.

In a statement on Friday, Islamabad police warned they would take action against anyone attempting to disturb the peace in the capital, adding that any gathering had been banned.

Schools were shut and cellphone services suspended in Islamabad and the adjacent garrison city of Rawalpindi.

A telecoms official said cellphone services were blocked on directions from the interior ministry. A ministry spokesman did not respond to a request for a comment.

Addressing a meeting of the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan, Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Friday expressed concern that Daesh has established equipping and training centers outside Afghanistan.

Muttaqi said that the attacks claimed by Daesh in Afghanistan over the past three years mostly involved foreign nationals.

He called on countries in the region to stop their citizens from being recruited by Daesh.

Muttaqi also called the concerns of some countries about the existence of threats on Afghan soil “completely baseless," saying that it indicated an "information vacuum" or "distortion of information by saboteur circles".

"Our request is not to look at Afghanistan through the lens of outsiders, but to make sure you use reliable sources of information," he said. “We are willing to cooperate in this regard.”

Muttaqi also called on countries in the region to cooperate in preventing the smuggling of processed drugs into Afghanistan.

"We have been able to change the narrative in Afghanistan over the past three years from security concerns to development orientation, economic reconstruction, attracting investment and providing better services to the Afghan people," he said.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the meeting that Moscow wants to expand relations with Afghanistan in the political and economic spheres. He praised the Islamic Emirate's efforts to ensure security and fight drugs.

Lavrov also said that Russian companies are interested in investing in agriculture, mining and transport in Afghanistan.

He claimed that the US and its allies are attempting to use the United Nations to insert themselves into the Afghan settlement process and take it under their control.

"In this regard, I would like to call for exercising vigilance in relation to attempts by the United States and its allies to insert themselves into the settlement process in order to take it under their control, including by using the authority of the UN for these nefarious purposes," he said.