Over 820,000 Afghan Refugees Return Home From Iran, Pakistan In 2018 - IOM

More than 820,000 Afghan refugees returned home from Pakistan and Iran in 2018, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a press release on Friday

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th June, 2019) More than 820,000 Afghan refugees returned home from Pakistan and Iran in 2018, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a press release on Friday.

"Over 820,000 [Afghan refugees] returned in 2018 - 94 percent of them from Iran - the highest number from Iran ever recorded in a single year," the release said.

The IOM and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) annually produce a joint report to document the number of returns to Afghanistan and provide adequate assistance to the local agency to address refugees' needs.

While the IOM assists undocumented refugees and the UNHCR supports documented returnees, both agencies aid the Afghan government in the provision of humanitarian post-arrival and reintegration efforts, the release noted.

To provide more effective services, the IOM and UNCHER have strengthened collaboration by signing a Data Sharing Agreement and making plans to co-locate return centers in Afghanistan's Kandahar province, the release said.

With 2.7 million refugees, Afghanistan was the second leading country of origin among refugees worldwide in 2018, according to a recent UNHCR report.

Afghanistan has long been destabilized by the conflict between the Taliban and the Afghan government, exacerbated by the activities of various terrorist groups, including the Islamic State (banned in Russia).