KABUL, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi, the acting deputy prime minister for administrative affairs of Afghanistan's interim government, has laid the foundation stone for a new residential township for returning immigrants in southern Helmand province, the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing said in a statement on Tuesday.
According to the statement, Hanafi emphasized that returning immigrants are receiving essential services, and eligible returnees will be granted residential land to help them rebuild their lives.
The township spans 5,000 acres of land and is planned to include 4,260 housing units upon completion, said the statement.
The Afghan interim government has previously launched residential townships for returnees in several other provinces, including Ghazni, Paktia, Faryab, Paktika, Kunar, Balkh, Kunduz, and Kandahar.
The return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan and Iran has accelerated since the beginning of this year. In April and May alone, a total of 500,000 Afghans returned to their homeland from the neighboring countries.
Nearly seven million Afghan refugees, most of whom are undocumented, are currently living abroad, with most living in Iran and Pakistan. ■
