Over 950,000 Afghans returned home, say Taliban officials

ISTANBUL

More than 952,000 Afghan refugees have returned home over the last year from neighboring countries, the interim Taliban administration said Wednesday.

According to the interim Ministry of Refugee and Repatriations, 952,589 Afghan refugees returned to Afghanistan from Iran, Pakistan and other countries over the past year, state news agency BNA reported.

The ministry released the figures at a press conference under the interim government’s “IEA accountability program,” official BNA News reported.

The Taliban, which returned to power in August 2021, call itself Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan or the IEA.

More than 8 million Afghans have been driven out of their country by conflict, violence and poverty, according to UN data.

A vast majority of Afghan refugees have been living in neighboring Pakistan and Iran ever since the US launched its war on the country in early 2001.

As part of the same program, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology released figures on communication facilities in the war-torn nation.

About 23 million SIM cards active in the country, 98% of which were legal, said the interim ministry.

Meanwhile, the country’s central bank, the Da Afghanistan Bank, said account holders could now withdraw up to $600 a week and up to $2,000 monthly.

It also announced that inflation in the country has declined to 2.4% from 15.4% two years ago.