KABUL, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan has released 638 Afghan detainees from its jails over the past week, while 3,340 Afghan refugees returned home from the country in a single day, Afghan officials confirmed Thursday.
The freed prisoners, who had been incarcerated on various charges, crossed into Afghanistan through the Torkham border crossing in eastern Nangarhar province and the Spin Boldak crossing in southern Kandahar province, according to a statement from the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation.
The releases coincide with a broader wave of returns, as Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Afghan government, announced Tuesday that more than 76,000 Afghan refugees had returned from Iran and Pakistan over the past month.
Millions of Afghan nationals, the vast majority undocumented, currently reside abroad, with the largest populations concentrated in neighboring Iran and Pakistan.
The Afghan government has consistently urged expatriates to return and participate in the nation's reconstruction. ■