Bodies of 800 Afghan refugees repatriated in past year: officials

The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation announced Wednesday that the bodies of 800 Afghan refugees have been repatriated from a number of countries in the past year.

According to officials, 2,900 Afghan citizens, who were being trafficked, were rescued and returned to the country.

Deputy Minister of Refugees and Repatriation Mohammad Arsla Kharoti said in the government’s accountability program that more than 952,000 Afghan refugees have returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan, Iran and other countries in the past year.

He added that in one year, around 4,000 Afghans have been released from the prisons of Pakistan and Iran and transferred to Afghanistan. There are seven million Afghan refugees abroad and another three million internally displaced people, he said.

Officials of the Ministry of Refugees also stated that discussions are ongoing regarding the release of the remaining Afghan prisoners in Pakistan and Iran. They called on hosting countries to treat refugees well.

The officials said that they are working on ways to attract national and international aid for returnees, holding multilateral meetings to solve the problems faced by Afghan refugees abroad and facilitating the return of refugees are among the focal areas of the ministry this year.