Taliban calls on UNHCR to address Afghan refugee issues

The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan has called on the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to address problems faced by Afghan refugees abroad.

Addressing a gathering in Kabul, acting Minister of Refugees and Repatriation Khalil Rahman Haqqani expressed concerns over the mistreatment of the refugees who have fled to other nations in the wake of the conflict, reports TOLO News.

"The rights of refugees, their problems must be raised to the whole world and to those who are responsible for them," he said.

The deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, Bilal Karimi, said there were reports of Afghan refugees being mistreated in some countries.

"Unfortunately, we have heard some reports that our citizens are facing problems in some countries. We call on the officials of these countries to understand the situation of the Afghans based on their humanitarian and Islamic faith," he said at the same gathering.

According to the UNHCR, Afghan refugees are the third-largest displaced population in the world, following Syrian refugees and displaced Venezuelans.

There are 2.6 million registered Afghan refugees in the world, of whom 2.2 million are registered in Iran and Pakistan alone.

After the Taliban took over in August last year, 667,900 Afghans were internally displaced, which added to the already 3.5 million internally displaced civilians at the end of 2020.

Eighty per cent of the newly displaced Afghans are women and children.