In a significant development, the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation has reported that a staggering 96,490 migrants have returned to Afghanistan from Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey in the span of just one month. The ministry emphasized its commitment to aiding these returnees by providing essential assistance.
Abdul Rahman Rashid, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, stated, “In the month of Dalw, 96,490 migrants came from Pakistan, Iran, and Turkey. We have committees, at the borders they are given travel allowances, food and non-food assistance, and winter clothes, and they are transferred to their original provinces [states]. Each family is given ten thousand in cash assistance.”
While the returnees receive support upon their arrival, some are voicing concerns and urging the Islamic Emirate to create job opportunities for them. Payinda, who returned with his family from Pakistan, shared the challenges faced during migration, stating, “They would take money from us. We couldn’t even freely move around or go to the doctor, that’s why we came to Afghanistan.”
The motivations for return vary, with conflicts in Afghanistan and difficulties faced abroad cited as key factors. Nazanin, a returnee from Iran, recounted her experience, saying, “They took my husband, and later my husband called to say that he had been imprisoned. After four days, I went and said give us three days, we will leave from here.”
In response to the growing number of returnees, individuals like Khairudin are urging the government to focus on creating job opportunities within the country. Khairudin emphasized, “The government should provide job opportunities so that no one goes back to Iran again and all of us can progress our lives in our homeland.”
Since the beginning of the current solar year, the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation has recorded a substantial return of more than one and a half million migrants from Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey, highlighting the complexities surrounding migration and the challenges faced by those returning to their homeland.
