The Taliban’s Department of Refugees and Returnees in Kunduz says that nearly 16,000 refugee families have returned to the province from Iran and Pakistan since the beginning of the current year.
Abdul Wali Mohammadi, head of the department, said that most of the returning families are originally from Kunduz and returned to the province between Hamal and Asad.
Mohammadi added that the returning refugees have called for the process of distributing residential plots to be expedited. According to him, more than 100,000 refugees have returned to Kunduz alone since the Taliban’s return to power.
According to available information, most Afghan refugees returning from Iran and Pakistan have also settled in Kabul, Herat and Nangarhar.
Abdul Mutalib Haqqani, spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Refugees and Returnees, previously said that more than eight million Afghan refugees had returned to Afghanistan from Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and other countries over the past nearly five years.
Meanwhile, United Nations reports indicate that the growing number of returning refugees has further complicated the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, increasing pressure on public services, the labour market and economic resources.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
