700,000 Afghan refugees deported from Iran in past 9 months

KABUL (Agencies): Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) acting deputy minister of refugees and repatriation Muhammad Arsala Kharoti said on Saturday that about 700,000 Afghan refugees have been deported from Iran in the past nine months.
Addressing a press conference during a visit to Herat province, Kharoti said many of these refugees have been forcibly deported. He said the issue of mistreatment of Afghans by Iranian officials has been raised with Tehran on a number of occasions.
“We also contacted the Iranian government and summoned the ambassador for Iran; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed our dissatisfaction, so those who are accused of abusing Afghans should be found and those who are guilty should be punished,” Kharoti said. During the press conference, a US-based charity handed over a large shipment of clothing to the ministry, which will distribute to vulnerable families across the country.
Farhad Safi, Coordinating Director of the Zarmani Foundation, said: “We reached an agreement with the Ministry of Refugees to hand over these clothes and based on the surveys they have carried out, they will transfer this aid to all provinces, especially the provinces with the most vulnerable and needy.” Officials at the charity say the shipment is worth about $5 million.
“We assure you that we will deliver the aid to the deserving and the vulnerable with full transparency,” Kharoti said. This comes amid an increase in the numbers of deportees from Iran said officials. According to them, as many as 3,000 people return through the Islam Qala border crossing into Herat daily.