Did Over 1,500 Afghan Refugee Families Return Home in a Single Day?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- 1,576 refugee families returned to Afghanistan in one day.
- Majority returned from Iran and Pakistan.
- Support provided includes food, water, and medical care.
- Return of refugees has accelerated due to host country policies.
- Over 1.3 million refugees have returned in the past year.
Kabul, July 20 (NationPress) In a remarkable turn of events, over 1,500 Afghan refugee families have made their way back to their homeland, Afghanistan, from neighboring Iran and Pakistan in just one day, as reported by the state-run Bakhtar news agency this past Sunday.
A total of 1,576 refugee families returned on Saturday, with 81 families arriving from Pakistan and 1,495 families from Iran, according to the official report.
Each of the returnees has received essential assistance at the border crossings, the news agency emphasized.
The influx of Afghan refugees returning home has accelerated in recent months, triggered by host countries urging undocumented migrants to depart, as highlighted by Xinhua news agency.
Over the past year, more than 1.3 million Afghan refugees have come back to Afghanistan, with approximately 600,000 refugees returning from Iran alone in June.
Earlier in June, a significant number of over 30,000 Afghan refugees returned through the Islam Qala border crossing in western Herat, marking one of the most substantial recent returns, according to a local official.
In light of this massive return, all essential supplies, including water, food, and immediate medical care, have been made available to the returnees, stated Mawlawi Ahmadullah Muttaqi, the provincial director of the Information and Culture Department.
Afghanistan has two major border crossings with Iran, one located in the western Herat province and the other in Nimroz province. Recently, both of these crossings have seen a significant uptick in returning refugees.