Kabul, Apr 26 (IANS): A total of 35,999 Afghan refugees have returned to Afghanistan from neighbouring Iran over one month, local media reported on Wednesday.

The Afghan refugees who used to stay in Iran for years have returned to their homeland in Afghanistan in the past month, and the process of returning the refugees to their country continues, Xinhua news agency quoted local media as saying.

A couple of months ago Bakhtar also reported the return of more than 300,000 Afghan refugees from Iran to Afghanistan.

More than 2.5 million registered Afghan refugees reportedly have been living in Iran and about the same number are living in Pakistan.

The Taliban government has been calling upon Afghan refugees living abroad to return home and contribute to the reconstruction of their home country.

According to the UN, Afghans make up one of the largest refugee populations worldwide.

There are 2.6 million registered Afghan refugees in the world, of whom 2.2 million are registered in Iran and Pakistan alone.

Another 3.5 million people are internally displaced, having fled their homes searching for refuge within the country.