Over 8,000 Afghan refugees return through Spin Boldak in last two days

Local officials in Kandahar province said on Wednesday that in the last two days, more than 8,000 Afghan refugees returned to the country through Spin Boldak crossing.

According to local officials, different teams have been assigned to take care of the returning refugees.

“In the past two days, as the return of immigrants has increased, and the situation has become critical, 30 families returned on the first day, consisting 3,600 individuals, and yesterday 700 families returned, consisting 4,500 people,” said Abdul Latif, Hakimi, the director of refugees registration in Spin Boldak of Kandahar province.

The returnees criticized the mistreatment of refugees by the Pakistani police, calling it inhumane. The returnees called for help from national and international organizations.

“In our homeland, we are ready to eat soil, but we won’t accept serving outsiders anymore. Our whole life was spent in the servitude and slavery for others, and we were harassed by the police in every corner of Pakistan,” said Raz Mohammad, a returnee.

“On the way, they [Pakistan’s police] took our money, and everywhere they stopped us and asked for documents,” said Khalilullah, a returnee.

Local authorities in Spin Boldak also asked Pakistan to stop the mistreatment of Afghan refugees.

“There has been a lot of oppression against Afghan immigrants, and in some cases, locals have stolen and looted the houses of Afghans and have invaded Afghans’ houses and have taken their money,” said Mullah Bashir, Spin Boldak district governor.

Meanwhile, a camp has been built for returning refugees in Spin Boldak, with facilities and classrooms.

The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said that the forced return of migrants from Pakistan continues and according to the statistics available, in the last 24 hours, more than 12,000 people have entered the country through the Torkham crossing.

According to the ministry, the committees created by the commission to deal with the returnees in different sectors have started working in Torkham area, registering and and providing assistance.

The ministry added that Acting Refugees Minister Khalilurrahman Haqqani and other commission members are closely monitoring refugees return, registration and service delivery.

It said that a number of waiting facilities have been established and work to set up a temporary camp and more waiting facilities is ongoing. Also, various vehicles have reached the area to serve the Afghans expelled from Pakistan.