A Taliban minister and the Iranian ambassador met in Kabul to discuss the return of Afghans to their country of origin, with an Afghan delegation set to travel to the Iranian capital. An NGO reported the recent killing by Iranian border guards of Afghan migrants (260 dead and wounded, according to some sources).

Tehran (AsiaNews) – Senior Afghan and Iranian officials have agreed to repatriate Afghan migrants in Iran, but on the border between the two countries people continue to die at the hands of Iranian border guards.

According to reports from the Halvash News Agency, dozens of Afghans were killed recently in the Kalgan Saravan region, in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province.

Some eyewitnesses say the incident was a "deliberate attack", which sparked outrage among former Afghan officials, including former Attorney General Mohammad Farid Hamidi, who calls the action a "crime against humanity" and urges the United Nations and international human rights groups to act.

For some time now, Iranian authorities have been pushing for the more or less voluntary return of Afghan migrants, and to this end, they are preventing Afghan children from attending Iranian schools.

In the past, gangs operating with impunity along the Turkish-Iranian border have abducted Afghan migrants for ransom, leading Turkish authorities to start building a wall to stop migrants and smugglers.

Afghanistan’s Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, Khalil Rahman Haqqani, and the Iranian Ambassador and Special Representative for Afghanistan, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, met recently to discuss the matter.

On X, the Taliban’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation says that it is in favour of the return of migrants and has agreed with Iran to send a delegation to Tehran to address the challenges of Afghan migrants, noting that the Afghan government plans to repatriate migrants from Iran, but this process requires a jointly coordinated plan.

During the meeting, Ambassador Kazemi Qomi rejected media reports of mistreatment of Afghan migrants in Iran, stressing that Iran is committed to respecting all the rights of migrants. However, recent reports from the border areas between the two countries tell a different story.

The Iran Human Rights Organisation (Halvash) reports deliberate violence against migrants, citing two Afghan witnesses who survived a massacre in which others were shot to death by Iranian border guards.

The victims were trying to cross the border and enter Iran from Pakistan. Some 260 out of 300 were killed or wounded. One source said that only 60 survived, while the rest were killed or seriously wounded.

The plight of Afghan refugees in Iran has been an open wound for a while. Migrants not only face physical violence, but also systemic violations of their fundamental human rights.

International organisations have raised serious concerns about the actions of the Iranian government, including forced deportation and brutal treatment, so far in vain.

Adding to the challenge is the lack of legal protection and the constant threat of abuse, leaving many vulnerable to torture, harassment, and even death.

This ongoing crisis highlights the urgent need for global attention and action, to safeguard the migrants’ rights and punish those responsible, as former Afghan Attorney General Mohammad Farid Hamidi, one of the most critical voices, noted.

On his X account Hamidi wrote: “The deliberate attack and killing of defenceless and vulnerable migrants and refugees constitute a crime against humanity, a severe and inhumane crime.”

The former government official added that these refugees embarked on a dangerous journey in search of "a safe haven, fleeing life-threatening dangers" and, according to international law, human ethics, and Islamic teachings, deserve protection and support.

In his criticism, he did not spare the Taliban, stating that they are neither capable of defending the rights of Afghan citizens abroad nor do they show any sense of responsibility in such matters.

Lastly, he urged the United Nations, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Criminal Court to “take serious action and bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice.”

• iran
• afghanistan
• taliban
• migrants
• repatriation
• border guards
• violence