Iran deported 7,612 Afghan refugees: Taliban authorities

Kabul [Afghanistan], February 5 (ANI): The Taliban authorities of the Refugee and Repatriation Department of Nimruz province has said Iran deported 7,612 Afghan refugees back to their homeland over the last week, the Khaama Press reported.
The director of the Refugees and Repatriation Department of Nimruz province, Sediqullah Nasrat, on Sunday said many of them, who were dire straits financially, had received cash from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a United Nations agency, to facilitate migration.
Nasrat added that the IOM also distributed food and other necessary items to regugee families.
The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, Afghanistan on Saturday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a private organisation cnamed 'Osta' to create employment opportunities for more than a thousand needy families, the Khaama press claimed in its report.
Some experts said among the factors that were behind the mass migration of Afghan locals to neighbouring countries was poverty, unemployment, lack of job security, and political instability.
Signifcantly, migration spiked after the Taliban's takeover of the country in 2021.
Meanwhile, some local residents said in the absence of jobs, they don't have a choice but to migrate to other countries, irrespective of the consequences.
According to Khaama Press, the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation had earlier reported the return of some 3,000 Afghan migrants, a majority of whom were forced to leave Iran, while others left of their own will.
On January 24, aid was provided to 500 needy families in Kabul by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Afghan Red Crescent Society, and the King Salman Charity Foundation.
Within a year, the help will reach at least 280,000 people in 25 provinces of Afghanistan, the head of the OIC office in Kabul, Muhammad Saeed Al-Ayash, had said. (ANI)