The number of Afghans coming home from Iran has doubled in the past month, a top border official tells AFP at the Islam Qala crossing, with returnees reporting growing pressure to leave. The rise comes as Afghanistan's eastern border points with Pakistan have been inundated with returnees after Islamabad ordered 1.7 million Afghans it said were living illegally in the country to leave or face deportation. "When Pakistan made the decision to deport our countrymen from their own land, the figures started to rise here," Abdullah Qayomi, head of refugee affairs at the busy crossing near the western Afghan city of Herat says, adding that the numbers of people trying to cross have leapt from 1,500-2,000 per day to 3,000-4,500. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES