Minister Blames “Enemy Intel” For Iranian Society Violence Against Afghan Immigrants | Afghanistan International

Vahidi said that after foreign intelligence services’ failure to incite unrest inside Iran, they have been focused on the issue of refugees.

The Iranian officials always hold the other countries’ intelligence services responsible for all anomalies and protests in Iran.

According to the Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Vahidi on Thursday during a meeting in the administrative council of Qir-o-karzin, Farashband and Firozabad cities of Iran said, "A mysterious movement has started during this period regarding Afghan nationals that aims to create a conflict between Iranian communities and Afghan immigrants. Enemy's espionage agencies are working on this issue after being frustrated in creating unrest."

He made this statement while Iran has forcibly deported thousands of Afghan immigrants from the country in recent months.

Recently, video clips have been sent to Afghanistan International showing scenes of torture and abuse of Afghan immigrants in Iran.

In the pictures that reached Afghanistan International, a group of people in Qazvin province can be seen attacking Afghan immigrants and their homes with stones and sticks.

Iran's Ham-Mihan newspaper published an investigative report on Thursday, stating that despite the Iranian police announcing the arrest of 19 individuals on charges of attacking the homes of Afghan immigrants, anti-Afghan sentiments have not subsided. On social media, extensive campaigns have been launched, calling for the expulsion of Afghan immigrants.

Ham-Mihan newspaper reported that the origins of these campaigns may be traced back to statements made by Iranian officials concerning the number of Afghan immigrants in Iran.

Officials and members of the parliament of Iran have repeatedly announced the presence of millions of Afghan immigrants in Iran and have warned about them in some cases.

Mohammad Sargazi, one of the Iranian MPs, is among those who criticised the presence of Afghan immigrants in Iran several times and asked the authorities of his country to reconsider accepting Afghan immigrants.

In May, he explicitly called for the expulsion of Afghan refugees from Iran and claimed that more than seven million Afghans live in Iran.

After the takeover of power by the Taliban in Afghanistan, many Afghans fled to neighbouring countries, including Iran.

There is no precise statistics available regarding the number of Afghan immigrants in Iran. However, the Minister of Interior of Iran had recently stated that the Afghan immigrant population exceeds five million in the country.

Explosion Rocks Shia Mosque In Baghlan

Oct 13, 2023, 11:50 GMT+1

Local sources reported an explosion inside a mosque in the second district of Pol-e Khomri city in Baghlan Province. According to sources, the explosion occurred at the Imam Zaman Mosque during Friday prayers.

Sources said that the blast took place inside a Shiite Mosque, killing and injuring several worshipers.

The exact number of casualties due to this explosion is not currently available.

According to sources, this explosion was caused by an embedded bomb. Local sources said that after the explosion, Taliban members rushed to the scene.

Local Taliban authorities have not commented on the explosion so far.

US Allocates $12 Million For Victims of Earthquake in Afghanistan

Oct 13, 2023, 11:30 GMT+1

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said that the organisation has allocated $12 million for immediate humanitarian assistance to help the earthquake victims in western Afghanistan.

The US aid to Afghanistan has been announced at the same time as the appeal made by relief organisations to increase urgent financial resources for the treatment of hundreds of victims of the two earthquakes in the past five days in western Afghanistan.

Reuters reported that the aid will be distributed through external agencies such as the International Organisation for Migration, which includes temporary shelter, blankets, clothes, food, and other items.

The Taliban has provided varying statistics regarding the earthquake's casualties. The group’s Ministry for Disaster Management announced that at least 2,400 people died in the earthquake, but the Ministry of Public Health announced that the number of victims was more than 1,000 people.

Pak Government Stops PTM’s Campaign To Collect Aid for Afghan Earthquake Victims

Oct 13, 2023, 10:08 GMT+1

Manzoor Pashteen, the leader of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), announced that the Pakistani authorities prevented his group's campaign to collect aid for the Herat earthquake victims.

He criticised the Pakistani government for preventing the "humane expression of Pashtun sympathy".

Pashteen is one of the influential leaders of Pashtuns in Pakistan, who has repeatedly criticised the country's government and army for illegal killings and kidnappings in tribal areas and has held demonstrations for the rights of Pashtuns in Pakistan.

The PTM leader wrote on Facebook on Thursday that his group’s members set up aid collection tents to help the earthquake victims of Herat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including in Quetta city of Baluchistan province. However, the Pakistani authorities did not allow them to do so and shut down the tents.

He added, "How deprived are the Pashtuns that they are not even allowed human sympathy."

At the same time as the scope of damages and needs became more apparent following two powerful earthquakes in western Afghanistan in the last five days, more countries have announced financial commitments for the victims of the earthquake.

In the latest case, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea announced on Thursday that it will donate one million dollars to help the victims of the devastating earthquake in Herat.

The ministry said in a statement that emergency aid would be sent through the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

China To Send In USD 4 Million-Worth of Humanitarian Aid For Afghanistan Quake Victims

Oct 13, 2023, 09:13 GMT+1

The Chinese government announced on Thursday that it will provide more than four million dollars-worth of humanitarian support to Afghanistan in order to help the victims of the recent earthquakes.

Earlier, two days after the deadly Herat earthquake, China had donated 200,000 dollars to the victims of the earthquake.

Chinese media outlets reported on Thursday that the new aid announcement came from the China International Development Cooperation Agency. These new donations will include tents, beds, blankets, winter coats and other items needed by the affected families.

China announced that this aid would be transferred to Afghanistan and will be distributed among the people. Also, more food aid will be given to the earthquake victims.

Five days after the deadly Herat earthquake, more countries have announced their readiness to send aid to Afghanistan. Referring to the humanitarian crisis caused by the earthquake in Herat Province, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies called for immediate international support for the victims.

The federation said that the full extent of the tragedy was still emerging, and urgent international support was needed.

This week, following two earthquakes in western Afghanistan, hundreds of people have been killed and injured, and many villages have been destroyed.

In a statement, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies requested 132 million dollars to respond to the immediate needs of those affected by the earthquake. These immediate needs include food assistance, cash assistance, emergency shelter, household items, emergency health care, psychological support, and clean and sanitary water.

Pak Security Forces Prevent Afghan Nationals From Crossing Border Without Passport & Visa

Oct 12, 2023, 16:34 GMT+1

Sources said that Pakistani security forces have not been allowing Afghan travellers who do not have passports and visas to cross the Chaman border over the last three days.

Previously, Afghan and Pakistani citizens could cross the border using their national identity cards.

Spin Boldak and Chaman border is an important crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan, but since the restrictions imposed by Pakistan, thousands of people have been waiting to cross the border on both sides of Afghanistan and Pakistan borders.

Mohammad Rafiq Achikzai, a resident of Chaman city in Pakistan, whose business is setup in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar (Afghanistan), told Afghanistan International, "For many years, people with Afghan and Pakistani IDs have been commuting between tribal areas of Spin Boldak and Chaman."

Mohammad Wali, a Pakistani local elder, said that following a meeting with Baluchistan province authorities three days ago, they declared that cross-border travel on both sides should require a passport.

He stated, "We cannot tolerate this decision of the Pakistani government, the business of thousands of people here is being affected. This is our homeland and we [tribes] do not accept the decision of Pakistan and Afghanistan to travel with passports.”

Pakistan recently announced that it will deport foreign nationals without legal documentation from Pakistan.