Taliban’s Religious Education Could Lay Foundation of Radical Ideas, Says UN Expert

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".

Last year, Nizamani was appointed as the Charge d'affaires of the Pakistani embassy in Kabul. He also survived an assassination attempt in Afghanistan.

Despite border tensions and differences over the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Pakistan and the Taliban have maintained close relations. After the fall of the previous Afghan government in Afghanistan in 2021, Islamabad maintained its active embassy in Kabul, with the country's ambassador continuing to work there.

After Mansoor Ahmad Khan concluded his mission as the ambassador of Pakistan in Kabul, Nizamani arrived in Kabul in late 2022 and assumed his role as the Charge d'affaires of the Pakistani embassy.

After an assassination attempt, he left Kabul however, he returned after some time. He has previously worked in various diplomatic positions in Washington, New Delhi, Dakar, Berlin, and Jeddah.

While no country, including Pakistan, has officially recognised the Taliban, China and Pakistani have appointed new ambassadors in Kabul in recent months.

The agency announced that the new mechanism will prevent the entry of people who are considered as a security risk to Pakistan.

Officials at Pakistan's FIA said that an organised group of smugglers is involved in transporting Afghans without legal travel documents, which they said is a major security risk for Pakistan.

Pakistan said that the installation of a new visa verification system at the zero point of the border will enable immigration officials to screen and identify fake travel documents.

According to FIA officials, the visa approval system at the Torkham border checkpoint expedites the arrival of legitimate travellers while reducing the likelihood of suspicious individuals entering with questionable travel documents.