The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations (MoRR) says over 1,000 Afghan migrants were forcibly returned from Pakistan on Tuesday through Spin Boldak border crossing in Kandahar province, the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry stated that based on information provided by the Spin Boldak Kandahar border command, these returnees comprised 191 families, totalling 998 people.

In addition, three migrants released from Pakistani prisons were also returned, according to the statement.

The statement added that after registering the returnees, the refugees were referred to the offices of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the World Food Program (WFP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Each family received 10,000 afghanis – paid to them by the Islamic Emirate.

In another statement, the ministry said that 2,783 migrants living in Iran voluntarily and forcibly returned to the country during this week.

Hamidullah Akhundzadeh, acting Minister of Transport and Aviation, headed a delegation to Uzbekistan for a ‘Six-Party Corridor’ meeting that included representatives from Afghanistan, Russia, Belarus, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

On the sidelines of this meeting the Afghanistan delegation discussed trade through the corridor with the other five relevant countries.

According to the ministry of transport and aviation, Akhundzadeh met with the deputy ministers of transport of Russia and Belarus.

He also discussed ways to expand transit between Afghanistan and Russia; and Afghanistan and Belarus, and provide the necessary facilities to achieve this.

The ministry added that the acting minister had a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Transport and the Special Representative of the President of Uzbekistan on Afghanistan and discussed the expansion of road transport between the two countries.

Representatives of Malaysia’s ministries of foreign affairs, defense and interior and advisors of the Malaysian Prime Minister and the Special Representative of Malaysia for Afghanistan arrived in Kabul this week for meetings with a number of high-ranking officials.

The Islamic Emirate’s foreign minister Mawlavi Amir Khan Muttaqi met with the delegation and thanked Malaysia for assistance it has provided over the past few years, including aid for the victims of the deadly Herat earthquake.

Muttaqi said in the meeting that existing diplomatic, religious, cultural and economic relations between the people and governments of Afghanistan and Malaysia were expanding.

“There are business and investment opportunities in various fields,” Muttaqi told the delegation.

“Afghanistan follows a balanced and economy-oriented foreign policy in the political and economic field. Afghanistan’s relations with the international community are expanding and it has established good relations with neighboring and regional countries,” said Muttaqi.

Afghanistan is keen to expand its relations with the countries of Southeast Asia, he added.

Muttaqi further said: “The Afghan government wants the Malaysian government to provide health and education facilities for the 3,000 Afghans currently living in Malaysia.”

At the same time, members of the Malaysian delegation said that the Malaysian government wants to expand relations with Afghanistan in various fields.

The delegation positively evaluated the political situation in Afghanistan and said they hoped a Malaysian trade delegation would visit Afghanistan in the near future.

One delegate, Dato Shazlina said: “Malaysia is determined to organize short-term training programs for Afghan diplomats, training programs in the field of information technology, accounting and development for Afghan civil service employees and in this regard cooperate with Afghanistan in organizing professional programs.”

The political deputy prime minister, Mawlavi Abdul Kabir, also met with the delegation and said the Islamic Emirate has achieved much in the economic and political sectors, and that the world, including the region, has no need to be concerned about Afghanistan.