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Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan to Ink Agreement on Refugees

Afghanistan’s Refugees and Repatriation Deputy Minister Samad Hami announced on Tuesday that Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan are due to sign an agreement on issues related to the Afghan refugees.

“Based on the agreement, the Afghan refugees can remain in Iran and Pakistan until 2017,” Hami said in a press conference in Kabul.

According to the Afghan official, the new agreement underlines that his countrymen should not be expelled from Iran and Pakistan forcefully.

He said that 930,000 Afghans are living in Iran under the support of the UN and 1,400,000 reside in the country as refugees and are not supported by the world body.

Iran has called on the international community to strengthen support for Iran for hosting Afghan refugees and provide repatriation support for the refugees.

Voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees from Iran has slowed in recent years in the face of poor security and economic conditions in Afghanistan, which Tehran blames on the US-led invasion of the country in 2001.

Earlier this year, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Representative in Iran Bernard Doyle lauded the country for its efforts and effective measures in supporting the Afghan refugees residing in Iran, and underlined that Tehran has shown a kind and humanitarian behavior towards the Afghan nationals.

“Iran has well fulfilled its humanitarian duties in this regard,” Doyle said in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi in June.

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