asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many registered refugees have officially returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan, Iran and other countries since 2001; how many of those have also returned to those countries periodically and have been double-counted; and what are the estimated net figures for returnees. [HL666]

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) 2005 global refugee trends report published in June 2006 estimates that 4.6 million Afghans have voluntarily returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan, Iran and other countries since 2001. UNHCR does not estimate how many of these 4.6 million have subsequently returned to neighbouring countries and as such we are unable to provide a net figure for returnees. The UNHCR report is available on the UNHCR website at www.unhcr.org.