Afghan refugees in Iran rises to 5 million in past two years

Kabul [Afghanistan], October 3 (ANI): The number of Afghan refugees in Iran has surged from approximately 2 million to 5 million over the past two years, reported Khaama Press. 

Iranian Interior Ministry stated that before the Taliban took over Afghanistan, 2 million people lived in Iran but the number has now risen to 5 million, reported Khaama Press citing Iranian media. 

Moreover, Afghan people have been forced to move to Iran due to unemployment and an uncertain future in Afghanistan. 

Recently, a member of Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Fadahossein Maleki announced that the “migration trend from Afghanistan” has been reviewed by this commission. 

Maleki on Sunday told the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA), “The influx of many migrants, most of whom enter illegally, has raised concerns for our people, and these concerns are valid.”

Furthermore, he called on Iran’s representative to the President’s Office for Afghan Affairs to reconsider their strategies regarding the Taliban, Khaama Press reported.  

“The diplomatic apparatus or the special representative of the president, who has extensive powers, should reconsider their policies towards the Taliban, who are the current rulers of Afghanistan,” he said. 

Moreover, some Tehran newspapers have also raised concerns regarding the issue of Afghan migrants in Iran. 

According to Khaama Press, a state-owned newspaper ‘Iran’ emphasized the words of a political analyst in its headline and stated, “Anti-Afghan sentiment is a security threat.”

The analyst further noted that out of 5 to 6 million people, only 10 per cent of them have entered Iran illegally, and the rest got their visas to come to Iran. 

However, accurate and official statistics of individuals entering Iran from Afghanistan do not exist, reported Khaama Press. 

After the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, an increase in Afghan migration commenced, particularly towards neighbouring nations like Pakistan and Iran.

Earlier in August, the Taliban-led Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations of Afghanistan said that more than 700 Afghan refugees have returned from Iran, Afghanistan-based Khaama Press reported.