Iran extends deadline for Afghan migrants to Sept 6

KABUL (Pajhwok): Iranian Foreign Ministry’s representative in Khorasan Razavi province says the deadline for Afghan refugees to leave Iran has been extended for another nearly two months, media reports said on Sunday.

Ahmad Masoumi-Far said the deadline for Afghan migrants to exit Iran has been extended until September 6.

He warned that after this deadline, any undocumented Afghan migrants who do not leave will be required to pay a “residency fine”.

He cited “lack of infrastructure and extreme heat” as the reason for the extension.

He noted: “Due to the lack of infrastructure and the hot weather, the deadline for the exit of undocumented foreigners has been extended until September 6. After this date, undocumented migrants in the country will be subject to fines for illegal residency.”

He added that Afghan citizens who enter Iran legally will be allowed to remain in the country.

Iran has recently begun deporting Afghan migrants, and in less than a month, more than half a million people have returned to Afghanistan.

Earlier, Roza Otunbayeva, UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan (UNAMA), after witnessing the large-scale return of Afghan migrants at the Islam Qala border, called for an urgent and coordinated international response to address the situation.

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