Turkiye has detained five military commanders affiliated with Abdul Rashid Dostum, the leader of Junbish-i-Milli Islami Afghanistan party and transferred them to a migrant deportation centre in Istanbul.
The Afghan embassy in Ankara told Afghanistan International that it is ready to assist to free them.
An informed source in Turkiye told Afghanistan International that Turkish police coerced the signatures of these four military commanders on their deportation papers.
Meanwhile, some sources in Turkiye said that the legal residency period of many officials and military personnel of the previous Afghan government have expired, and they are at risk of deportation. These sources added that the Turkish government has not extended the residence permits of these Afghan officials, and they are afraid to leave their homes due to the fear of arrest by the police.
A source close to the Junbish-i-Milli Islami Afghanistan said that the residency of about two hundred families of party members affiliated with Marshal Dostum has expired, and all of them are at risk of deportation.
Some individuals at risk of deportation say that if the military personnel affiliated with this party, who have a long history of fighting against the Taliban, are deported, they might be killed by the Taliban.
Junbish-i-Milli Islami Afghanistan is a prominent political party in Afghanistan, established in 1992 under the leadership of Abdul Rashid Dostum. This political-military organisation has extensive influence in the northern provinces of Afghanistan, particularly among the Turkic ethnic groups in these provinces.
The party has fought against the Taliban in several historical periods.
Many leaders of the party, including Abdul Rashid Dostum and his family members, went to Turkiye after the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in August 2021 and have been living in the country since then.
Some members of the party told Afghanistan International that contrary to the Turkish government's promise not to deport former government officials and military personnel, it is now unconditionally seeking to deport Afghans who have fled to Turkey fearing Taliban retaliation.
Among these Afghan refugees are those who have entered Turkey with or without visas through unofficial routes.
