The deputy head of the Office of the Prisons Administration, Habibullah Badar, said the Taliban has instructed prison officials to not punish the prisoners….reports Asian Lite News
Officials at Afghanistan’s Prisons Administration have said more than 500 women charged with various crimes are imprisoned in the country’s prisons, TOLO News reported.
TOLO News is an Afghan news channel broadcasting from Kabul. As per officials, in total, there are over 17,000 prisoners in the country’s prisons.
The deputy head of the Office of the Prisons Administration, Habibullah Badar, said the Taliban has instructed prison officials to not punish the prisoners.
Badar said that there are no political inmates in Afghanistan’s prisons.
“The number of women in the prisons is between 500 to 550. Some are being detained and some are released … We are trying to release them if their crime is less,” he said, as per TOLO News.
As per political analysts, male and female prisoners should be provided with equal rights.
A political analyst, Javid Momand, said: “The right of a prisoner is that efforts should be paid for their reform. As you see in other countries, prisons are like universities. There are educational programs and when they are released to society, they are disciplined.”
“The women in the prisons have the right to have access to their families, lawyers and human rights organizations and the right to defend themselves,” said Ruqia Sayi, a women’s rights activist, as per TOLO News.
Afghanistan, Sep 07 (ANI): Afghan nationals including women shout slogans during a protest outside the Pakistan embassy, in Kabul on Tuesday. (ANI Photo)
Taliban threaten beauty salon owners
Following the Taliban order to ban beauty salons run by women in several provinces across Afghanistan, the Director of Promotion of Virtue and Prohibition of the Taliban in Ghazni Province warned them to end such activities by the end of the month, according to Khaama Press.
They summoned the family members of several owners of women’s beauty salons on Thursday. The Khaama Press News Agency is the largest online news service for Afghanistan, established in October 2010 in Kabul, Afghanistan.
In the event of violation, the officials threatened to prosecute and punish the husbands of the beauty salon owners or their family members.
According to a decree issued by the Taliban’s Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, women’s beauty parlours in Afghanistan will no longer be allowed to operate after July 23, reported Khaama Press.
Further, as per the report, there are over 12,000 women’s beauty salons across the country, with an average of 5 women employed by each. There are 3,100 women-only beauty salons in Kabul.
Days after the Taliban issued a decree banning women’s beauty salons across the country, several women makeup artists protested against the move, urging that the order be rescinded, Tolo News reported.
The protesters gathered at the Union of Women’s Beauty Salons saying that the closure of beauty salons will lead to severe economic challenges for them. (ANI)
UN official said Afghanistan could be integrated into the international community if the issue of rights of women is resolved…reports Asian Lite News
The UN deputy special representative for Afghanistan Markus Potzel has said Afghanistan could be integrated into the international community if the issue of female education, and their work for international NGOs, national NGOs, and UN organizations is resolved, Tolo News reported.
Speaking to UN News, Potzel said in a speech that women have the right to participate in society and urged the Taliban to fulfill its international obligations, including ensuring the rights to education and work for its population.
The UN deputy special representative for Afghanistan asked the Taliban to revoke the restrictions on females as soon as possible. “Otherwise, there will always be a shadow on Afghanistan’s relations with the international community,” he said.
Potzel noted, “I think that the de facto authorities in Afghanistan should let girls go to school beyond grade six. They should let girls go to university. They should let women work for international, national, and UN organizations. And they should let women participate in social life. If this happens, I can imagine that Afghanistan would be integrated into the international community again, and international donors would also rethink and probably reinforce engagement with Afghanistan.”
Potzel further stated that UNAMA is attempting to foster cooperation and help the Afghan government get out of isolation.
“We think isolation is not an option, at least not a good option, for the future of Afghanistan,” he said.
According to political experts, Afghanistan may overcome its political isolation by acceding to the legitimate demands of the international community.
“Afghanistan’s problems are internal, political and related to the Islamic Emirate. The Islamic Emirate should start a dialogue with the Afghans, and then it is possible for foreigners to interact with them,” said Wahid Faqiri, an international relations expert.
Previously, the Taliban has said that the issue of women in Afghanistan is one of the country’s internal issues and other institutions and countries should not interfere.
Women’s beauty salons targeted
The Taliban has in a new verbal decree, banned women’s beauty salons in Kabul and other provinces across the country, a spokesman for Taliban Ministry of Vice and Virtue, Mohammad Akif Mahajar, told TOLO News.
TOLO News is an Afghan news channel broadcasting from Kabul. The Taliban Ministry of Vice and Virtue also ordered the Kabul municipality to bring the new decree of the Taliban leader into effect and cancel the licenses of women’s beauty salons.
“The men are jobless. When men cannot take care of their families, the women are forced to work in a beauty salon to find a loaf of bread. If they are banned there, what can we do?” said Raihan Mubariz, a makeup artist, as per TOLO News.
“We will not get out of the home if men (of the family) have jobs. What can we do? We should starve to death, what should we do? You want us to die,” said a makeup artist.
This comes as the Islamic Emirate has banned girls and women from going to schools, universities and working at NGOs as well as going to public areas such as parks, cinemas and other recreation areas.
Kabul resident Abdul Khabir said: “The government should make a framework for it. The framework should be in a way that neither Islam would be damaged nor the country.”
The imposition of restrictions on Afghan girls and women by the Taliban has sparked reactions at both the national and international levels. (ANI)
The country’s schools for girls above the sixth grade have been closed for more than 650 days…reports Asian Lite News
University professors, women’s rights activists and religious clerics in Afghanistan have launched a campaign — ‘Education of Afghan Girls’, with the goal of reopening schools and universities for girls in the country, TOLO News reported.
According to the campaign’s organisers, despite their requests to reopen the nation’s schools and universities in the past two years, no action has been taken.
They said that they would keep campaigning until girls were allowed to attend schools and universities.
Afghan students attend school in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan, March 20, 2022. (Photo by Sanaullah Seiam/Xinhua/IANS)
Fazl Hadi Wazeen, a cleric, said, “The campaign for girls’ education in Afghanistan has been launched as a national initiative, and this campaign will continue until the doors of schools and universities are opened for girls.”
“This campaign’s goal is to ensure the rights of students above the sixth grade and female students in public and private universities,” Abeda Majidi, a university lecturer, said.
Some girls, meanwhile, said they have been faced with an uncertain future after the closure of schools for girls above sixth grade in the country.
“If we don’t study, it is clear that in the future there will be neither good doctors nor good teachers in our country,” Setara, a student, said.
“We ask the Taliban to open the doors of the schools for us. We want to study and serve our country,” Ghazal, another student, told TOLO News.
The country’s schools for girls above the sixth grade have been closed for more than 650 days.
Even as the closure of schools for girls drew outrage both within the country and beyond, there has yet been no word from the Taliban regime on the reopening of educational institutions for girls. (ANI)
Some analysts, suspecting US hand are of the view that the “resettlement” of terror groups will hit Russia and Central Asia hard as it can block some of the new routes linking Afghanistan with Central Asia…writes Rahul Kumar
The shifting of the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) fighters to the northern areas of Afghanistan from the Af-Pak border districts by the Taliban administration has caused both confusion and fear.
The decision to relocate the TTP fighters, also called the Pakistani Taliban, and their families is mired in mystery. Many analysts have said the US persuaded the Taliban to relocate the fighters while others point out that Beijing is behind the shift of the fighters in a bid to bring peace to Pakistan, where it has invested billions of dollars in rail, road, power, infrastructure and port projects.
US President Joe Biden’s off-the-cuff remarks that “…Al Qaeda will not be there [in Afghanistan], I said that we will get help from the Taliban…” has also triggered speculation that the US is in some kind of a secret deal with the Taliban. Some analysts, suspecting US hand are of the view that the “resettlement” of terror groups will hit Russia and Central Asia hard as it can block some of the new routes linking Afghanistan with Central Asia, including the one radiating from the Iran’s Indian Ocean port of Chabahar.
Northern Afghanistan is on the doorstep of Uzbekistan, separated by the Amu Darya river. The Hairatan bridge, also called the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge, over the Amu Darya links Afghanistan with Uzbekistan.
The Taliban apparently has a plan to resettle the TTP and others in the area by constructing a canal that will draw water from the Amu Darya to sprout agriculture in the area. Pakistan has reportedly promised to provide agricultural equipment to the resettled fighters in a bid to wean them from terror activities on its soil.
So far, the Taliban government in Kabul has not provided any clarity besides its initial statements that it will be relocating the fighters from the Durand Line – the contested border that separates Afghanistan from Pakistan, in a bid to assure Islamabad that its people are not behind the attacks on Pakistan’s security forces. With the government in Kabul linked closely to the Pakistani Taliban, ministers in Islamabad have been alleging for many months that Afghanistan-based fighters are creating unprecedented violence in Pakistan’s provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan in a bid to create a Sharia-compliant country.
This has created much bad blood between the two nations.
Once reports began trickling in of 300 fighters having been relocated along with heavy weapons and vehicles to north Afghanistan’s Takhar province, which lies on the border with Tajikistan, the Taliban denied the reports. On its part, Pakistan too has not uttered a word on the relocation of the TTP fighters, most of whom are Pashtuns, from its borders.
In an ethnically-diverse Afghanistan, many groups have already voiced fears that the relocation of well-trained militants to the northern regions will cause ethnic tensions within the country. The ethnic communities feeling uncomfortable include the Hazaras, the Tajiks and the Persian speaking communities.
The Hasht-e-Subh daily has reported that the transfer of such men close to central Asian borders is likely to destabilise the CAR countries and spread radicalism and fundamentalist ideas in the region. It adds that the TTP cadre is being relocated after an agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The daily says: “Countries such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, which share borders with Afghanistan, have deployed additional troops to secure their borders. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) has also convened multiple meetings to address the insecurity in Afghanistan and the risk of the crisis spreading to Central Asia…”
On the other hand, reports say that during the trilateral Foreign Ministers’ conference held in Islamabad on May 6, 2023, China pressed Afghanistan to understand Pakistan’s concerns that Kabul act against the TTP. The trilateral was one of those few events for which Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was allowed by the UN to travel to Pakistan.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) says that it was after the meetings between Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto, and the Taliban’s Muttaqi, that the big decision to relocate the TTP fighters was taken by the Taliban government.
Taliban members inspect the site of a roadside bomb blast in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Jan. 16, 2022. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua/IANS)
A possible indication about decisions regarding the TTP fighters comes from the joint statement.
The statement read: “The three sides stressed on the need of not allowing any individual, group or party, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), etc., to use their territories to harm and threaten regional security and interests, or conduct terrorist actions and activities. All three sides underscored the need to refrain from intervening in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, and to promote Afghan peace, stability, and reconstruction.”
Why China seems to be brokering peace between the two warring governments is that it wants its investments in Pakistan, mainly the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to prosper and also be able to extend it to Afghanistan. China has long espoused interest in the rare minerals that Afghanistan’s mountains hold, which Beijing has not been able to mine earlier due to the American presence and lately due to the unstable security situation in the two neighbouring countries.
How the results of the relocation of TTP fighters from Af-Pak borders pans out may be known after a few months. It sounds likely that China is looking at some kind of rapprochement between the governments of two South Asian nations to further its own interests – get the terrorist groups off Pakistan’s back, thereby, protect its economic interests and also keep Xinjiang at an arm’s length from the Afghanistan-based terror groups.
According to hospital officials, most incidents and injuries occurred during the Eid days….reports Asian Lite News
Over 259 people have been injured due to traffic incidents in the western province of Afghanistan’s Herat over the last five days, Khaama Press reported.
“In the last five days, we had 259 injured traffic accidents and, unfortunately, three deaths,” Khaama Press quoted an official as saying.
According to the official, most of the injured were teenagers and young adults. According to hospital officials, most incidents and injuries occurred during the Eid days.
Meanwhile, the eastern province of Nangarhar also had the highest number of incidents during the Eid days. At least two people died, and 168 others were injured due to traffic accidents in the province, Khaama Press reported.
Moreover, more than a dozen had been killed and over 300 others injured due to traffic accidents across the country, as per Khaama Press.
On the other hand, 33 people died, and 45 others were injured in several traffic accidents in different provinces before Eid days.
The current increase in road accidents is directly related to reckless driving, lack of asphalted roads, poorly maintained vehicles and neglected traffic laws, Khaama Press reported citing officials.
In another incident, at least three children were killed, and three others sustained injuries when a mine exploded in Afghanistan’s Faryab province, Khaama Press reported citing local officials on Monday.
According to Shamsullah Mohammadi, Taliban’s provincial director for information and culture, a group of children spotted a toy-like device in the Khwaja Sabz Posh region of Faryab province on Sunday afternoon and began playing with it.
Nonetheless, the device exploded, killing three children and wounding three more. According to the report, the injured children were brought to a provincial hospital for medical care.
Incidents like these are a regular affair in the Faryab province of Afghanistan as years of war have left several mines and weapons out in the open in the war-torn country. A similar incident occurred earlier as well in the Wardak province of Afghanistan, killing one person. Afghanistan is contaminated with explosive devices due to four decades of conflict, which has killed and injured thousands of Afghan nationals, including children and women.
Meanwhile, despite a considerable fall in casualties compared to prior years of conflict and insurgency, a significant number of civilians have been killed and injured in attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, according to a recent UN assessment, reported Khaama Press.
According to the UNAMA in Afghanistan, 3,774 civilians were injured, with 1,095 killed, as a result of violence in the nation between August 2021 and the end of May 2023. The people killed or injured due to the country’s remaining explosion devices are also included in the report, said the Khaama Press report. (ANI)
As Afghanistan continues to grapple with the extreme food crises, India has donated 10,000 metric tonnes of wheat to the landlocked country….reports Asian Lite News
As some 28 million people in Afghanistan are in dire need of emergency aid, the World Food Program (WFP) announced the organisation has decreased aid levels to needy families due to a lack of funds, reported Khaama Press.
WFP on Tuesday tweeted that the UN agency has decreased the number of vulnerable families who received aid to five million, mainly due to fund shortages in Afghanistan. In 2023, it was estimated that nearly 15.3 million people are dealing with serious food insecurity in the war-torn country, WFP had earlier announced, as per Khaama Press.
Previously, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA) had stated vulnerable Afghan families who need immediate humanitarian aid has increased from 6.3 million people before the fall of the former administration to 28.3 million people in 2023.
According to OCHA findings, nearly six million people are facing acute poverty, whereas, WFP has announced that in October 2023, nearly 2.8 million people are plagued with emergency food insecurity.
“Meanwhile, some 3.2 million people suffer from malnutrition in Afghanistan. With the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021, the lack of employment opportunities and the ban on Afghan women to work for NGOs and international aid organizations are separate factors fueling the humanitarian crisis in the country. Taliban authorities have repeatedly refused the reports and statistics about the level of poverty in the country. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs of the Taliban has recently accused the media and the West of exaggerating the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan,” Khaama Press reported.
As Afghanistan continues to grapple with the extreme food crises, India has donated 10,000 metric tonnes of wheat to the landlocked country.
The 10,000 metric tonnes of wheat reached the Herat city of Afghanistan on Tuesday, United Nations World for Food Programme (UNWFP) said in a tweet on July 3.
“Wheat donated by the Government of #India @MEAIndia @dpa_meato @WFP arrived in Herat where it was milled for distribution to hungry families across #Afghanistan. This wheat is part of an in-kind contribution of 10,000 metric tons from India on top of 40,000 tons in 2022,” UN WFP stated in the tweet. Last month, the Indian government sent another 20,000 metric tons of wheat to Afghanistan amid a humanitarian crisis in the country using Iran’s Chabahar port, Afghanistan-based Khaama Press reported.
Earlier, another wheat assistance delivery of 40,000 tons was carried out through Pakistan’s land border.
India shows its dedication to promoting the stability and prosperity of Afghanistan by widening the channels for aid distribution, as per Khaama Press.
Afghanistan, under the Taliban, is facing its worst humanitarian crisis and the women of the country are denied fundamental rights. According to a World Food Programme assessment, Afghanistan is one of the nations with extreme food insecurity, with nine million people affected by severe economic difficulties and hunger.
Since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, the law and order situation in the country has only deteriorated, with the rise in cases of terrorism and blasts.
The group banned women from going to schools, and later in December last year, they banned women from going to universities and working with aid agencies. (ANI)
India shows its dedication to promoting the stability and prosperity of Afghanistan by widening the channels for aid distribution, as per Khaama Press…reports Asian Lite News
As Afghanistan continues to grapple with the extreme food crises, India has donated 10,000 metric tonnes of wheat to the landlocked country.
The 10,000 metric tonnes of wheat reached the Herat city of Afghanistan on Tuesday, United Nations World for Food Programme (UNWFP) said in a tweet. “Wheat donated by the Government of #India @MEAIndia @dpa_meato @WFP arrived in Herat where it was milled for distribution to hungry families across #Afghanistan. This wheat is part of an in-kind contribution of 10,000 metric tons from India on top of 40,000 tons in 2022,” UN WFP stated in the tweet.
Last month, the Indian government sent another 20,000 metric tons of wheat to Afghanistan amid a humanitarian crisis in the country using Iran’s Chabahar port, Afghanistan-based Khaama Press reported.
Earlier, another wheat assistance delivery of 40,000 tons was carried out through Pakistan’s land border.
India shows its dedication to promoting the stability and prosperity of Afghanistan by widening the channels for aid distribution, as per Khaama Press.
Afghanistan, under the Taliban, is facing its worst humanitarian crisis and the women of the country are denied fundamental rights. According to a World Food Programme assessment, Afghanistan is one of the nations with extreme food insecurity, with nine million people affected by severe economic difficulties and hunger.
Since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, the law and order situation in the country has only deteriorated, with the rise in cases of terrorism and blasts.
The group banned women from going to schools, and later in December last year, they banned women from going to universities and working with aid agencies.
Meanwhile, in his address at the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) which was held in a virtual format on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Afghan soil should not be allowed to be used to destabilise its neighbourhood.
Speaking at the SCO heads of the summit meeting, PM Modi said that humanitarian assistance and setting up an elected government in Kabul are major priorities of the SCO. “The situation in Afghanistan has directly affected the security of the region. India’s concerns and aspirations for Afghanistan are at par with other SCO countries. We will have to collectively work for the welfare of the Afghan people. Humanitarian assistance to Afghan citizens, forming an elected and inclusive government, fighting against drug trafficking and terrorism, and ensuring the rights of women, children and minorities- these all are our shared priorities,” he said.
Referring to age-old ties that India and Afghanistan share, PM Modi added, “Over the last two decades, India has contributed to the economic and social development of Afghanistan. We have continued to send assistance even after the 2021 episode. It is important that the Afghan soil should not be used to spread instability in neighbouring countries or to encourage extremist ideologies.” (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who chaired the SCO summit, said, “The situation in Afghanistan has directly impacted the security of all of us…reports Asian Lite News
Expressing concern about the situation in Afghanistan, leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Member States (SCO) called for an establishment of inclusive government in Afghanistan with the participation of representatives of all ethnic, religious and political groups in Afghan society and pledged to continue to assist the Afghan people.
The member countries adopted New Delhi Declaration of the Council of Heads of State of Shanghai Cooperation Organization on Tuesday. Notably, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit concluded on Tuesday under India’s presidency with Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually chairing the meeting of head of states.
The SCO Member States called for an inclusive government in Afghanistan and stated that “the group consider it essential to establish an inclusive government in Afghanistan with the participation of representatives of all ethnic, religious and political groups in Afghan society.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who chaired the SCO summit, said, “The situation in Afghanistan has directly impacted the security of all of us. India’s concerns and expectations regarding Afghanistan are similar to those of most of the SCO countries. We must come together to strive for the well-being of the people of Afghanistan.”
“Humanitarian assistance to Afghan citizens; the formation of an inclusive government; the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking; and ensuring the rights of women, children, and minorities are our shared priorities,” he said.
“Between the people of India and Afghanistan, there have been centuries-old friendly relations. In the past two decades, we have contributed to the economic and social development of Afghanistan. Even after the events of 2021, we continued to provide humanitarian assistance,” PM Modi added.
“The Member States believe that one of the most important factors in the preservation and strengthening of safety and stability within the SCO region is the early settlement of the situation in Afghanistan. They advocate building Afghanistan as an independent, neutral, united, democratic and peaceful state, free from terrorism, war and drugs,” the joint decalaration said.
They further stressed the importance of long-term hospitality and effective assistance provided to Afghan refugees by regional and neighbouring countries of Afghanistan. The Member States consider important, the active efforts of the international community to facilitate their dignified, safe and sustainable return to their homeland.
However, “the member states stressed the historical significance of the admission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the SCO as a full Member State. They also noted the importance of signing the Memorandum of Obligations by the Republic of Belarus to achieve the status of an SCO Member State,” the release added.
The Member States highly appreciated the outcomes of India’s presidency of the SCO in 2022-2023 which has contributed to the further development of multi-faceted and mutually beneficial cooperation.
“They further called for greater effectiveness of the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a key platform for discussing the international trade agenda and adopting the regulations of the multilateral trading system,” the official release said. However, they emphasized the need for early implementation of an inclusive reform of the organization, focusing on the issues of its development and adaptation to modern economic realities, as well as, effective implementation of the functions of monitoring, negotiation and settlement of disputes. (ANI)
When the Taliban were in power between 1996 and 2001, beauty salons were shut as part of a wide range of measures imposed by the extremist group….reports Asian Lite News
The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan has ordered the shut down of all beauty and hair salons across the war-torn nation, in the regime’s latest restriction against women.
A Vice and Virtue Ministry spokesman told the BBC that businesses had one month to comply, starting from July 2 when they were first informed of the move.
The spokesman, however, did not mention the reason for the latest measure.
When the Taliban were in power between 1996 and 2001, beauty salons were shut as part of a wide range of measures imposed by the extremist group.
The businesses however, reopened in the years after the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Following the fall of Kabul in August 2021, the salons remained in service but shop windows were often covered up and images of women were spray painted to hide their faces, the BBC reported.
Since coming to power, the Taliban regime has also barred teenage girls and women from classrooms, gyms and parks, and most recently even banned them from working for the UN.
The Taliban further decreed that women should be dressed in a way that only reveals their eyes, and must be accompanied by a male relative if they are travelling more than 72 km.
The restrictions have received widespread international condemnation.
Iranian border official Parwiz Qasimzada said that these Afghan migrants were arrested due to illegal entry…reports Asian Lite News
At least 4,000 Afghan refugees returned to Afghanistan through the Zabol crossing point over the past 24 hours, Khaama Press reported on Monday citing Iranian border security officials.
Iranian border official Parwiz Qasimzada said that these Afghan migrants were arrested due to illegal entry and later on returned to Afghanistan Some of the Afghan migrants were arrested due to the expiration date of their passports.
Qasimzada further said that in order to enter, stay and exit Iran, foreign nationals would have to use legal channels. He stressed that those foreign nationals illegally entering Iran would face legal action from the border guards.
In the past month, over 74,000 Afghan migrants have returned to the country from Iran through the Silk Road crossing point in the past month, said Taliban’s provincial officials at the Refugees and Repatriation Department of Western Nimroz province, according to Khaama Press.
The provincial head of Refugees and Repatriation of Nimroz province, Mawlavi Abdullah Ryaz said that at least 74,360 people including 1,106 families and 69,259 individuals have returned to the country from Iran over the past couple of weeks, Khaama Press reported citing Bakhtar news agency.
Meanwhile, the head of refugees in Iran’s Razavi Khorasan province said that over the past year, nearly 90,000 Afghan refugees were returned to Afghanistan through the Dogharun border.
Since the Taliban took power on August 15, 2021, millions of vulnerable Afghan families migrated to neighbouring countries including Iran and Pakistan.
Earlier, Ali Kazimi, Deputy Justice Minister of Iran had said that roughly 63 per cent of refugees in the country are from Afghanistan.
The International Organization for Migration in its latest report highlighted that 3.6 million Afghans migrated to the neighbouring countries in the past two years, 70 per cent of them to Iran, 18 per cent to Pakistan, 11 per cent to Turkey, and 2 per cent to other countries.
This comes as the Islamic Regime of Iran has forcefully deported thousands of Afghans to the country over the past months, as per Khaama Press.
Taliban officials have repeatedly reported the return of Afghan nationals from Iran in the past months. It is believed that some of these refugees willingly and others were forcefully returned to Afghanistan. (ANI)
