KABUL, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan government has distributed over 35,000 plots to the returnees to construct houses amid an unprecedented increase in the number of Afghan refugees returning to their homeland every day, a spokesman for the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, Mohammad Kamal Afghan, said.

A total of 35,719 plots have been distributed to the former refugees who have already returned to their country, and the process is continuing, the local media outlet TOLOnews quoted the spokesman on Monday night as saying.

The plots to construct houses have so far been distributed to the returnees in 18 out of the country's 34 provinces, the official said, adding that the scheme would cover all the returnees.

Thousands of Afghan refugees return to their homeland, Afghanistan, every week, and the number of returnees is on a persistent rise.

Demand for shelter is on a constant rise in Afghanistan, and to overcome the challenge of housing for the returnees, the government has begun construction of townships in some provinces.

According to reports, more than 2.5 million Afghan refugees, mostly from neighboring Pakistan and Iran, have returned to their homeland since early 2025, as the host countries have asked those without legal documents to leave.