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Iran steps up deportation of Afghan refugees
At least 3,000 Afghan refugees return to Afghanistan from Iran every day, many of whom are forcibly returned, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials have reported.
Investigations by the Ministry of Refugees found that 7,500 people entered Afghanistan from the Iranian border in the past two days.
According to the ministry, of these people, 5,500 were forcibly returned to Afghanistan by the Iranian government.
People who went to Iran due to political developments or poverty and hunger, now have bitter narratives of forced deportation from Iran.
“When you leave Afghanistan, extortion and looting begin. They [Iranians] are very annoyed,” said one of the forced returnees.
“On the way back home, if you get caught by them, they will take money from you, in short, they will do whatever they want,” said another forced returnee.
Questions have been raised however as to why Iranian forces have become heavy handed in their treatment of Afghan refugees lately.
“Issues such as the influx of immigrants into Iran, the lack of capacity to accept new immigrants, and diplomatic issues have led to an increase in forced returns,” said Asifa Stanikzai, an immigration rights activist in Iran.
Kabul, however, wants good relations with Tehran and wants them, to host Afghan refugees for the time being.
The Deputy Spokesman of the IEA said that if Afghans return from Iran, with the cooperation of the Ministry of Refugees, facilities will be provided for them on their return.
“The Islamic Emirate wants Iran to be a good host, as in previous years, until a normal situation returns in Afghanistan,” said Bilal Karimi, the IEA’s deputy spokesman.
After the recent developments and the fall of the previous government, the rate of illegal immigration to Iran has increased significantly.
Sadai Banowan, a women-run radio station in Badakhshan province has been shut down for playing music during the holy months of Ramazan.
Moezuddin Ahmadi, the director for information and culture in Badakhshan province, told the UK’s Guardian that the station had violated the “laws and regulations of the Islamic emirate” several times by broadcasting songs and music during Ramazan and was shuttered because of the breach.
“If this radio station accepts the policy of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and gives a guarantee that it will not repeat such a thing again, we will allow it to operate again,” said Ahmadi.
Station head Najia Sorosh denied there was any violation, saying there was no need for the closure and called it a conspiracy, the Guardian reported. The Taliban “told us that you have broadcast music. We have not broadcast any kind of music,” she said.
The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says Daesh has been destroyed by the security forces in the country and is not as big a threat as it was a year ago.
In a recent interview with Voice of America, Pashto, Mujahid said that the Afghan security forces “since August 2021, have arrested and imprisoned around 1,600 to 1,700 Daesh militants and have killed more than 1,100.”
The remarks came as the IEA usually downplays the presence and the threat of Daesh militants in Afghanistan.
Mujahid said Daesh hideouts had been destroyed across the country, including in Zabul, Kunar and Jawzjan provinces, and that Daesh fighters were mostly supported by the previous government. Some of them escaped from the prisons during the regime change.
However, he added that the Afghan security forces either killed, arrested, or imprisoned them.
Daesh has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in the past few months including one last month close to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which left six people dead and dozens wounded.
The Ministry of Interior says the special forces from the ministry and the 209th Army Corps of Al-Fatah carried out an operation and rescued a businessman who was kidnapped a month ago in Balkh, Mazar-e-Sharif city.
The ministry said on Twitter the trader was abducted in the first district of Mazar-e-Sharif city by kidnappers and a ransom of $300,000 was demanded for his release.
Two of the kidnappers were arrested in this operation, the officials said.
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