Taliban terror leaders announced on Thursday that they have opened an investigation into multiple reports of Iranian border guards opening fire on a crowd of hundreds of Afghans who had entered the country illegally.
The Iranian government has denied that its guards had committed any such mass killing, but insisted in a statement on the situation that Tehran would resolutely act against the large influx of Afghan migrants into the border that began when the Taliban regained control of the country from the former U.S.-backed government in 2021.
Iran and the Taliban’s Afghanistan maintain formal diplomatic ties, a rarity for the rogue Islamist regime in Kabul. The relationship is not without significant tension over their mutual border, however, typically as a result of disputes over access to water. The Helmand River straddles their border and both sides often complain that the other is hoarding the limited water supply.
Following the fall of the Kabul government in 2021, the dramatic influx of illegal Afghan migrants into Iran also became a significant point of content. The Taliban is a repressive, fundamentalist terrorist entity that has, among other actions, made it illegal for women to show their faces or use their voices in public and severely punishes men who do not abide by their strict facial hair standards. Its return to power prompted thousands to scramble for a way out of the impoverished, war-torn country, an exodus that continues three years later.
Reports initially surfaced on Wednesday in Afghan media and among the Iranian human rights community that Iranian border patrol had identified a group of between 200 and 300 Afghans in Sistan and Baluchestan province, trying to flee Afghanistan. According to the Iranian human rights group Haalvsh, border patrol intercepted the group and opened fire on the men, women, and children among them. Graphic videos allegedly showing the aftermath of the shooting began surfacing on social media and Afghan outlets estimated that as many as 200 civilians had been killed in the affair.
Amu TV, an independent Afghan outlet, claimed to find a family of the survivors of the massacre, who confirmed that a “large group” of Afghans had left western Afghanistan, in the direction of Iran a week ago. The family shared photos of their relatives and said they had no updates on their loved ones’ journey.
Several international organizations have condemned the reported attack and demanded more respect on the part of the Iranian regime for would-be refugees. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which has struggled to operate under the Taliban, issued a statement saying it was “deeply concerned” about reports of a massacre and demanding the Iranian government clarify the situation.
Amnesty International issued a statement recalling that the reports followed “two years of documented illegal use of force by Iran against Afghans seeking refuge after the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021.”
Iran is one of the few countries of the world to have diplomatic representation in Kabul, accepting the Taliban as the legitimate “interim” government of the country in 2021. Iranian Ambassador to Kabul Hassan Kazemi Qomi addressed the reports of the killings on Wednesday, but insisted that the “news about the deaths of dozens of illegal citizens at the Saravan border is not true.” Qomi nonetheless emphasized that Iran would respond decisively to the “illegal entry of unauthorized nationals” as is “the legitimate right of countries.”
The Taliban has yet to condemn Iran, but several senior terrorists in the organization have confirmed that they are organizing some sort of investigation into the incident. The Taliban’s Bakhtar News Agency reported on Thursday that top spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid announced “investigations are currently being conducted into reports concerning the deaths and injuries of Afghan nationals at the Iran-Pakistan border.”
“Mujahid acknowledged that, given the incident occurred outside of Afghanistan, comprehensive information is still pending,” Bakhtar added, stating that multiple leaders within the Taliban terror gang were involved in the alleged investigation.
Tolo News quoted a separate Taliban terrorists, deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat, who said the office of “prime minister” Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund was overseeing intelligence gathering for the investigation.
“They will conduct investigations and share the results with the Prime Minister’s Office to receive further instructions,” Fitrat reportedly said. “The commission has been working continuously since yesterday, last night, and today on this issue and is striving to share preliminary information with the citizens as soon as possible.”
Taliban leaders had announced on Wednesday that they had brokered a deal with Tehran to send a delegation to Iran to discuss stopping the flows of illegal immigration into Iran. The Iranian government is not enthusiastic about receiving foreign nationals, but the Taliban has also asserted repeatedly that it is attempting to discourage Afghans from leaving the country, particularly those with specialized skills or wealth that could contribute to enriching the Taliban economy.
“Khalil Rahman Haqqani, the acting Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, stated that the Islamic Emirate aims to repatriate Afghan migrants from Iran to Afghanistan, but this process requires a coordinated joint plan,” Tolo News reported on Wednesday. A spokesman for the refugee ministry added that the Taliban expressed “appreciation” to Iran for its “40-year hosting of Afghan migrants” and is seeking to “repatriate” them.
Tolo noted that Qomi, the Iranian representative in Kabul, had also on that occasion dismissed reports of Iran abusing Afghan migrants as “propaganda.”
In reality, international news organizations have long documented abuses by Iranian border patrol and other authorities against Afghan nationals, including those present in the country legally. Amnesty International has been among the organizations documenting beatings, shootings, and other abuses on the border with Afghanistan. In September, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) interviewed Afghans who described brutal abuses on their journeys to Iran.
“I saw an Afghan die, and they shouted at him ‘son of a bitch, go home!,’” a woman identified a Faliza Qaderi told the news agency, describing her experience at a migrant camp near Tehran.
AFP noted that Iran repatriates up to 3,000 Afghans a day.
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