The United Nations Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has called for a thorough and transparent investigation into reports of Afghan migrants being shot in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan border region.
In a statement released on Thursday, 17 October, UNAMA expressed alarm over reports that the shooting resulted in multiple casualties, including both deaths and injuries.
UNAMA underscored the importance of protecting the rights of migrants and asylum seekers, as enshrined in international law, and emphasised the need for accountability in this incident.
In a statement, Amnesty International called for the prosecution of the perpetrators of the shooting of Afghan migrants at the Iranian border.
The international human rights organisation also stressed on the need for independent, transparent and effective investigations into the matter.
In a statement on Thursday, October 17, Amnesty International described the report of the human rights organisation Halvash as "horrific" that "dozens" of Afghan migrants were killed and injured at the Iranian border.
The organisation also said that the shooting of migrants and the refusal to provide health care to the wounded were concerning.
Amnesty International has said that the perpetrators of the shooting of Afghan migrants should be held accountable in a fair trial.
About two years ago, Amnesty International documented the actions of Iranian security forces to kill and injure Afghan refugees after the fall of the Afghan government.
Iranian border forces in the Kalgan-Saravan area opened fire on Afghan migrants trying to enter Iran, killing and wounding dozens, the Halvash Human Rights Organisation reported on Wednesday (October 16).
The Taliban has appointed a high-level delegation to investigate the killing of Afghan refugees near the Iranian border.
A Taliban spokesperson said that Sadr Ibrahim, the group’s deputy interior minister, is heading the delegation and representatives of the ministries of defence, foreign affairs, borders and intelligence are members of it.
Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban's deputy spokesman, said in a statement that the group's prime minister had asked the delegation to present the results of its investigation into the killing of Afghan refugees on the Iranian border as soon as possible.
The Taliban probe was announced after an Iranian rights group, known as Halvash, initially reported the alleged Afghan casualties, saying they occurred Sunday in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan border province near Kolgan Saravan area.
The organisation quoted survivors as saying that about 300 Afghan migrants were attempting to unlawfully enter Iran in the Kolgan Saravan region when they were assaulted by Iranian border guards, resulting in deaths and injuries.
Kolgan Saravan region is in Sistan and Baluchistan province of Iran and borders with Panjgur region of Balochistan province of Pakistan. Apparently, the Afghan refugees intended to enter Iran through Pakistan.
Along with human smugglers, Baloch rebels also use this route to travel, and the Panjgur area is one of the areas where Baloch rebels have a large presence.
This is not the first time that Iranian forces shot at Afghan refugees at the border. Earlier, Amnesty International said in a report that Afghan migrants who wanted to go to safe countries through Iran and Turkey were shot dead by Iranian and Turkish border forces.
Nooruddin Azizi, the Taliban's Minister of Industry and Commerce, announced the suspension of poultry meat imports to Afghanistan. Azizi said that it was not clear whether the poultry meat that entered Afghanistan from Brazil was halal or haram.
According to the Taliban official, people used to consume Brazilian chickens "with scepticism”.
Afghanistan's national radio and television reported Thursday (October 17) that Nooruddin Azizi announced, "Our ulema and sheikhs have decided to completely stop importing chicken from neighbouring and distant countries to support domestic production."
According to the report, the Taliban's Minister of Industry and Commerce said at the opening ceremony of the Afghanistan Agricultural Products and Products Exhibition that chicken imports were stopped after this decision and now Afghanistan has reached self-sufficiency in poultry farming and related products.
According to him, "hundreds of thousands of people" are currently working in the poultry sector in Afghanistan.
Iran's deputy police chief General Qassem Rezaei called on the public to report any gathering of "unauthorised nationals" to the police.
Rezaei said that it is illegal for "unauthorised nationals" to buy or rent a bank card, house or car.
Iran's Deputy Police chief General Qassem Rezaei said, "Due to the events that have taken place in our Muslim and friendly country, Afghanistan, in the past 40 years, a number of citizens of that country have migrated to our country to continue their lives. Some of these people have entered the country completely legally and they are our guests, and there is nothing wrong with that."
He added that some of these foreign nationals have entered Iran "illegally" and are working and living, and their actions are considered as crimes under the law.
Iran's deputy police chief stressed that any "unauthorised" employment of foreign nationals is a crime and that employers who give jobs to these nationals will definitely be dealt with judicially.
General Qassem Rezaei clarified that according to the new policies, "unauthorised nationals" must return to their country of origin and the police have also prepared the ground for their return. Wherever "unauthorised nationals" are found, he noted, the police are obliged to identify, collect and return them to the borders.
This comes as the Islamic Republic has increasingly increased the deportation of Afghan refugees. Official reports indicate that Iranian authorities are detaining hundreds of Afghan refugees and returning them to Afghanistan every day.
The Taliban's Supreme Court announced that it had publicly flogged 10 people, including four women, in Khost, Kabul and Laghman provinces on charges of extramarital sex and same-sex relations.
The Taliban punished these individuals with 30 to 39 lashes. The Taliban's Supreme Court announced on Wednesday, October 16, that it had sentenced two men to 30 lashes for sexual relations in Tani district of Khost province.
According to a statement issued by the court, one of the individuals was sentenced to four years in prison and the other to three years in prison.
In another statement, the court announced that the flogging sentences of four people, including two women, were carried out by the Kabul Court of First Instance on charges of extramarital affairs.
The Taliban sentenced one of these individuals to six months in prison and the other three to one year in prison.
The Taliban's Supreme Court also said that it had sentenced four people, including two women, to 30 to 39 lashes in Mehtarlam city of Laghman province.
The Taliban said that they have punished the men on charges of robbery, extramarital affairs and running away from home.
A woman and a man were sentenced to three years in prison, another woman to six months and another man to two years in prison, according to the court's statement.