Taliban’s Leader Refuses To Meet UN Special Coordinator, Says Sources

On Wednesday, Vahidi told reporters that criminals and offenders exist in the community of five million Afghan immigrants.

He stressed that thousands of immigrants who have committed crimes are currently in Iranian prisons.

He added that these violations will be addressed with strict measures, but they should not be misconstrued as being anti-Afghan. Regarding the repatriation of illegal Afghans, Iran's interior minister stated that the process is actively underway, and approximately 200,000 migrants lacking legal documentation have been returned to their home country so far.

According to Vahidi, some of these refugees come back to Iran after being deported to Afghanistan. To solve this problem, he said that stricter legal solutions should be adopted.

In response to a journalist who asked, "Do the Taliban help you in the process of returning Afghan immigrants?", the Iranian minister said that the issue is not "serious" for them.

In recent weeks, dozens of Iranian citizens protested on the streets of Eqbaliyeh city of Qazvin province over the presence of Afghan immigrants.

With increasing pressure on Afghan immigrants in Iran, videos circulated on social media show that some Afghan immigrants have faced severe physical abuse from Iranian citizens.

Bennett added that the focus on madrassas (religious schools) increases the risk of homegrown terrorism and regional and global instability.

He presented a report on the human rights situation in Afghanistan to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.

In the report, the repressive policies and measures of the Taliban, the continuous humanitarian and economic crisis, and the recent deadly earthquakes have been mentioned as factors causing the deterioration of the human rights situation in Afghanistan.

Regarding the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Bennet said that a grave picture has emerged that provides “a glimpse of what may lie ahead for the human rights of many Afghans, particularly women, and girls, and also for other groups including human rights defenders, journalists, ethnic and linguistic minorities, LGBTI person, people with disabilities, former government officials and military and security personnel”.

He added that despite promises, there is torture and inhumane treatment in Taliban’s detention centres as well as violation of human rights of the former government officials and security forces.

The UN Special Rapporteur has also mentioned the continuation of arrests of human rights defenders.

Also, Bennett stressed on lifting the ban on girls' education, referring to the Taliban's claim of "temporary suspension" of girls' education.

Bennett expressed concern that the actions of the Taliban could potentially be categorised as gender-based persecution. He stressed on the need for a more thorough examination of the systematic discrimination, oppression, and separation of women and girls, which he referred to as a form of “gender apartheid”.

This UN official also considered the arrest of journalists as an example of the collapse of the civic space in Afghanistan.

Referring to the recent earthquakes in Herat province and their wide-ranging consequences, Bennett urged the international community to provide needed assistance.

He also mentioned the concern of Afghans regarding the normalisation of the situation and that human rights are being sidelined in favour of larger geopolitical interests.

He expressed his hope that the member states of the United Nations will stand by the women and people of Afghanistan.

Hundreds of people in Pakistan have staged a sit-in protest against the Pakistani government's recent decision to ban visa-free travellers from crossing the border between the two countries.

Pakistani media outlets have reported that the border officials of Pakistan and the Taliban discussed the problems of the communities on both sides of the border and the undocumented Afghan patients who want to enter Pakistan for treatment purposes.

According to these reports, the sit-in by members of political parties, businessmen, and civil society of Pakistan has entered the fourth day and the main road of Chaman and Kandahar has been closed to traffic.

The government of Pakistan has decided to deport Afghan immigrants without legal documentation and prevent the movement of travellers without passports and visas to Pakistan.

This decision of Pakistan has faced the opposition of Afghans and parts of the Pakistani society.

Afghans are the largest immigrant population in Iran, and the country has intensified the expulsion of Afghan immigrants in recent weeks.

Goudarzi on Monday said that these migrants had entered Iran illegally.

According to Iranian officials, approximately five million Afghan nationals reside in Iran. Recently, the Deputy Minister of Justice of Iran said that the country is currently the destination of 63% of Afghan refugees.

After the Taliban’s takeover of power, millions of Afghan citizens were displaced and many of them sought refuge in neighbouring countries, including Pakistan and Iran.

However, neighbouring countries, especially Iran and Pakistan, have accelerated the process of deportation of Afghan immigrants in recent months.

Following the spread of reports about the increase in the presence of Afghans in Iran, opposition to immigrant presence has surged in both the media and society, with these sentiments escalating to violent reactions against refugees in recent days.

According to sources, the armed men kidnapped this Shia cleric and later, his corpse was found with gunshot wounds on Monday, October 23.

The motive behind the murder is not clear yet.

Taliban security officials have not commented on the matter.

Etimadi was a member of the Herat Shia Ulema Council and Imam of Khashrood Mosque located in Injil district of Herat province.

Mohammad Mohaqiq, the leader of the People's Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan, has confirmed that Etimadi has been killed.

On X social media platform, Mohaqiq called the killing of Etimadi a "deep sorrow".