Following the intensification of the deportation process of refugees from Pakistan, Afghan Wireless Communication Company (AWCC) has started distributing free mobile phone SIM cards to returnees, in addition to providing telecommunications and internet services.

AWCC officials said they are also offering free voice calls and internet packages for the migrants.

“We are distributing SIM cards to the migrants being deported from Pakistan,” said Ibrarullah Zahir, the Sales Manager of AWCC in the eastern zone.

The company’s officials emphasized that they are offering these free telecommunications and internet services to returnees as part of the company’s social responsibility initiatives.

Meanwhile, local authorities in Nangarhar called on all telecom networks to provide 24-hour services to returnees.

Zabihullah Zaki, the head of the Telecommunications and Information Technology Department in Nangarhar, said they are monitoring the situation of the migrants and added that telecommunications companies are cooperating in this regard.

Attaullah Sahil, head of AWCC in the eastern zone, said the company’s teams are available 24/7 to provide services to returning migrants in the area.

Meanwhile, returnees have welcomed AWCC’s initiative of distributing SIM cards to them and for other free services.

Pakistan has this month ramped up its campaign to deport hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees, many of whom have lived in that country for decades.

Return refugees have, however, reported that Afghans in Pakistan are facing increasing harassment and the confiscation of their belongings by Pakistani authorities.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday night slammed the Joe Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, calling it “the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country”.

Trump said had he been president in 2021, “the disaster would have never happened”.

Addressing the National Republican Congressional Committee Dinner on Tuesday, April 8, Trump said he would have still pulled out troops as he had planned but he would have held on to Bagram Air Base.

As one of the biggest air bases in the world, he said he would have kept it “not for Afghanistan but because it’s one hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons.”

He stated, “China now occupies it”.

He slammed Biden for being “stupid” and criticized him for evacuating through Kabul International Airport in August 2021, instead of through Bagram.

Trump said: “They left from a local little airport, which was crowded like crazy.

“The bomb went off and decimated hundreds of people. Killed hundreds. We lost 13 soldiers. But we also had 42 or 48 horribly injured — arms, legs, faces. Horribly injured,” he said, referring to the Abby Gate suicide bombing that took place on August 26 outside the crowded airport.

More than 170 Afghans were killed in the explosion and 13 American soldiers also died.

Trump said this happened “all because we had a stupid leader,” adding that the incident should never have happened.

Iran’s Vice President has called on his government to strengthen relations with neighboring countries, especially Afghanistan.

Mohammad Reza Aref stated that neighboring countries such as Afghanistan and Pakistan provide great opportunities for Iran’s border provinces, including Khorasan Razavi.

He said governors of border provinces played an important role in strengthening ties with neighbors and in light of this, Tehran will look at enhancing the status of these provinces and promote them in trade dealings with neighbors.

Iran has been stepping up contact with Afghanistan’s rulers as part of a concerted bid to strengthen ties. While Tehran has not yet officially recognized the Islamic Emirate government, commentators have noted that this could soon change.

Regular meetings between Afghan and Iranian officials have been taking place – especially around boosting bilateral trade.

In the latest initiative, Mohammadreza Nazeri, Iran’s Director-General of the Office of Economic Coordination, met with Shafiullah Azam, Director General of Economic Cooperation of the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Kabul and discussed economic relations between the two countries.

Iran is one of Afghanistan’s most important economic partners, and trade volume between the two countries has increased to $4 billion; $55 million in exports from Afghanistan and $3.311 billion in imports.