The Taliban’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation announced that 1,379 Afghan migrants were repatriated from the Islam Qala crossing on a single day, under both voluntary and forced circumstances.

The ministry's announcement on Monday detailed that the returnees included 308 families, as reported by border officials at Islam Qala.

However, the specifics of how many migrants returned forcibly versus voluntarily had not been disclosed.

Included among the returnees were 21 orphaned children, who have been identified and referred to the International Organisation for Migration for further assistance and family tracing efforts.

In a related statement, Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi declared that Iran expelled 1.3 million "illegal" migrants last year and emphasised that Iran is not accepting new citizens, insisting that all "unauthorised" nationals must exit the country.