SHIRAZ, Fars Province (IRNA) -- Head of Provincial Bureau for Alien and Foreign Immigrants Affairs (BAFIA) said here Thursday that 909 Afghan refugees have returned home from Shiraz in the past week.

Mahmoud Moussavi told IRNA that the Afghan refugees interested in returning home who have participated in the repatriation program which began last year could use various facilities provided by the BAFIA to ease their return home.

Since the beginning of the current Iranian year (started March 21), over 13,775 Afghans have join the registration program and returned to their homeland.

The voluntary repatriation of Afghans is governed by a tripartite accord signed in Geneva on April 3, 2002 by Iran, Afghanistan, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Since the start of the accord, stricter regulations have been enforced on Afghans who are now required to present valid passports and visas to enter Iran. Those without the necessary residence permits to validate their stay are to be dealt with according to the country’s immigration laws.

The accord further requires returning Afghans to pass through either the Dogharoun or Milak border checkpoints in Iran’s northeastern province of Khorassan and southeastern province of Sistan Baluchestan, respectively.