KABUL, May 18 (Xinhua) -- A total of 439 Afghan inmates were released from Pakistani prisons and returned to Afghanistan in the past three days, a news release from the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said on Sunday.

The returnees, after receiving assistance at the border, were transported to their home provinces, it said.

Earlier, about 400 Afghan inmates imprisoned in Pakistan were released and returned to their homeland last week.

An estimated 7 million Afghan refugees, many undocumented, still reside abroad, primarily in neighboring Iran and Pakistan.

The Afghan interim government urges immigrants to return home and contribute to the rebuilding of their war-torn homeland. ■