Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi has urged Afghan refugees to participate in the census to be conducted in the country as according to the United Nations about 780,000 Afghan refugees migrated to Iran following the Taliban takeover last year.
The Iranian Minister has urged the "Afghan nationals to cooperate", reported the Khama press. According to him, the non-participation of Afghan civilians in the census will be considered "illegal".
Every few years, Iran conducts a census to quantify the number of its population.
According to the authorities of the Islamic Republic News Agency, they are demanding to know the exact number of Afghan migrants who are presently residing in Iran after the Taliban seized Afghanistan.
Presently there are over 780,000 Afghan refugees inhabiting Iran, the United Nations announced, as reported by the Khama press.
The Afghan refugees were repeatedly targeted by the Iranian government. Iran also deported thousands of Afghan civilians trying to escape from the oppressive Taliban rule. Cruelty and starvation have resulted in the rising number of Afghan refugees in Iran.
The Islamic Republic and the Taliban already have had a strained relationship since the Taliban's emergence in the 1990s. Iran also harbours turbulent relations with the extreme Islamist group as well, reported the Khama press.
A number of protests were witnessed in Afghanistan post the treatment of Afghan refugees in Iran. It resulted in Iran closing its consulates in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, more and more Afghan civilians are attempting to cross borders into neighboring countries to escape the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has also helped Tajikistan in the event of an influx of Afghan refugees, including by creating camps for their accommodation.
( With inputs from ANI )
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