Kabul, Mar 11 (IANS): More than 500,000 Afghan refugees have returned to the country in the past six months, a Taliban government official has claimed.

During a visit to the Torkham border, a major crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation (MRR) Mohammad Arsalah Kharotai told reporters on Thursday that diplomatic efforts were underway to facilitate the release of Afghans being held abroad, reports TOLO News.

"Almost 550,000 people are registered with us, but the number could be higher as some of them might have not been registered," he said.

The visit comes following repeated complaints of citizens about problems at the crossing, which connects Afghanistan's Nangarhar province with Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

During its sixth session, the Taliban cabinet had discussed the challenges at the Torkham and Spin Boldak crossings.

"To ensure discipline and to resolve the health issues and other problems at the Torkham port in Nangarhar and Spin Boldak port in Kandahar, relevant ministries were instructed to properly activate the departments and appoint sufficient and professional staff to address the problems of the people," the Islamic Emirate said in a statement.

There are six official border crossings and trade terminals between Afghanistan and Pakistan, namely Torkham, Chaman, Angur Ada, Badini, Ghulam Khan and Kharlachi.