RASC News Agency: Taliban authorities at Herat’s Islam Qala border report that approximately 55,000 Afghanistani migrants have been repatriated from Iran over the past month. Mawlawi Hazrat Zaeem Agha, Commissioner of Islam Qala, stated that the deportation rate has surged, with around 2,500 migrants being forced back into Afghanistan daily. These expulsions, according to Agha, are carried out forcibly by Iranian authorities.
To support these returnees, the local commissioner’s office has partnered with aid organizations, providing each migrant family member with 2,000 Kabuli rupees and essential food supplies at the border. Despite these provisions, many returning migrants express grievances regarding mistreatment by Iranian border officials. Migrants allege that, even with legal documentation, they are subjected to disrespect and harsh treatment. This increase in deportations from Iran has coincided with a similar uptick in expulsions from Pakistan.
Both nations have forcibly removed thousands of Afghanistani migrants over the past few months. These individuals, having fled Afghanistan in search of security and livelihood, now face heightened risks as they are forced back into a country marred by insecurity. Human rights groups and Afghanistani women’s protest movements have strongly condemned these forced expulsions, describing them as “horrific” and stating that they place the lives of countless individuals in jeopardy. Many of the deported individuals are reportedly former members of the Afghanistani military under the previous government, heightening fears that they may be subjected to persecution or harassment by the Taliban upon their return.
