Europeans provided no aid for Afghan refugees in Iran: Raisi
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Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi says that his country feels responsible toward Afghans, in contrast to the Europeans who pursue the Afghan issue only for their political purposes.
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Afghan refugees rest in tents at a camp in Chaman, Pakistan, near the border with Afghanistan (AFP)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi confirmed that his country currently hosts more than 4 million Afghan refugees, criticizing European countries, saying that they did not provide any assistance to these refugees, contrary to their many allegations in this regard.
In a statement to reporters, the Iranian president said his country has a sense of responsibility toward the Afghan people, unlike the European governments that pursue the issue of Afghanistan for political purposes.
He added that "what matters today inside Afghanistan is the formation of an inclusive government which represents all Afghan ethnic groups."
Raisi stressed the need to pay attention to the issues of Afghan nationals in terms of education and work, in Khorasan Province and all other provinces of the country where Afghan refugees are located.
The Iranian president stated that "the Department of Foreign Nationals in the Ministry of Interior, and provincial administrations, as organizations specialized in following up the affairs of Afghan nationals, are not enough," and added that "we must consider their problems our own, and work to address them."
In November of last year, the Norwegian Refugee Council reported that between 4,000 and 5,000 Afghans cross the 900-kilometer border between Afghanistan and Iran every day. He called for increasing the support provided to Iran to enable it to provide humanitarian needs.
The council added "we cannot expect Iran to host this number of Afghans with such limited support from the international community."
Iran calls for release of frozen Afghan assets
In January, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian received an Afghan delegation headed by Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi for the first time since the formation of the current government in Kabul.
Amir-Abdollahian had announced that Afghan people have proven that there is no foreign force capable of occupying Afghanistan, describing the Taliban leaders' statements regarding the formation of a comprehensive Afghan government as "positive."
He stressed that his country will continue to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and noted that one of the goals of the US policy is to spread discord between Afghanistan and the surrounding countries.
Amir-Abdullahian also had stressed the necessity of releasing Afghan funds frozen by the US on humanitarian grounds and to help improve the economic situation of the Afghan people.
