Afghan Minister of Interior Ali Ahmad Jalali here Sunday lauded Tehran's all-out support for Kabul, particularly for the Afghan refugees living in Iran.
Speaking to IRNA, Jalali expressed gratitude to the nation and government of Iran for their hospitality towards Afghan nation during the past three decades.
Admitting that hosting Afghan refugees put an extra financial burden on Iran during all these years, Jalali asked Tehran officials, at the same time, to consider present critical situation in Afghanistan in their program to repatriate Afghan refugees to the country.
The Afghan refugees in Iran are sent back to their country in accordance with a tripartite agreement signed in Geneva by representatives of Iran, Afghanistan, and the UNHCR in April 2002 for voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees.
Jalali said that about 1.5 million Afghan refugees are living in Iran while the number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan stood at three millions.