Nearly 1.8 million Afghan refugees return home in past 12 months

A total of 1,779,603 Afghan refugees have returned to their homeland from Pakistan, Iran, and other countries over the past 12 months, the country's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation reported on Sunday.

"It is worth mentioning that currently, we have 7 million refugees in foreign countries and 3 million displacements inside Afghanistan," said the deputy of the ministry, Mawlavi Abdul Rahman Rashid at a government programme, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Right now, we have approximately 46 townships for refugees in about 29 provinces," said Mawlavi Mahmoud-ul-Haq Ahadi, head of plan and policy for the ministry.

According to Ahadi, to address the issues faced by Afghan migrants and returnees, the ministry has signed 93 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with its partner organisations, seven agencies, and 14 educational institutions during the period, Ahadi added.

Over 7,88,000 Afghan internally displaced and returned families with the collaboration of international aid organisations have received financial, foodstuffs, and non-foodstuffs during the cited period, Ahadi asserted.