Five Days After Ashraf Ghani's Former Bodyguard Commits Suicide, Taliban Releases His Wife

The organisation said that Iran has sharply increased the forced return and deportation of migrants in 2024.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a video release on Friday (December 20) that the Islamic Republic of Iran has repatriated thousands of Afghan refugees to Afghanistan every week from its borders in 2024.

The organisation added that among them are immigrants who have valid residency documents.

Recently, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) announced that Iran has deported more than one million Afghan refugees in the past year.

UNHCR added that following the intensification of the deportation process of migrants from Iran, it has increased the provision of services to returnees at the Afghanistan-Iran border and provided immediate cash and social assistance to vulnerable returnees.

Meanwhile, Bakhtar News Agency, a Taliban-controlled media outlet, reported on Friday that at least 135 families had been deported from Iran and Pakistan in a single day and returned to Afghanistan. The Taliban media outlet wrote that 32 families from Pakistan and 103 families from Iran have returned to Afghanistan.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) had announced on Wednesday, December 18, that more than 1.2 million Afghan refugees had returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan and Iran in 2024. According to the organisation, more than 1.1 million people have entered the country from Iran's borders, 80,500 from Pakistan, and 100,000 through the airport.

According to statistics recorded between March 2022 and March 2024, there has been a 78.5% increase in road accidents in Afghanistan.

The report, published on Thursday, December 20, states that the number of accidents has increased from 2,662 to 5,520 during this period.

With the official end of hostilities, many roads have been reopened, however, most remain in war-like conditions and need to be rebuilt, the hospital said.

In addition to poor road conditions and high speeds, many accidents are also caused by landslides on the road and non-compliance with traffic regulations.

The report states that in Afghanistan, passengers often do not have suitable vehicles, and widespread poverty means that large numbers of people gather in one vehicle to travel long distances.

The report follows two traffic accidents on the Kabul-Kandahar highway, which according to the Taliban, left 52 people dead.

Emergency is an international humanitarian organisation that provides free medical treatment to victims of war, poverty, and landmines. The organisation was founded in 1994.

Since its establishment, the organisation has treated more than nine million patients. Most of its activities are in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Iraq, Italy, Sudan and Uganda.

According to the front, in another attack by its forces in Jabal al-Sarraj district, two Taliban members were wounded.

The front also released a video of its forces attacking the entrance to the Bagram Airfield.

According to the front, Taliban commander Mullah Malang Helmandi was among the four people killed in the attack on Thursday evening. Three other Taliban members were wounded in the attack.

The front said that two Taliban members were wounded in the attack by its forces in the vicinity of Jabal al-Sarraj district.

Afghanistan International could not independently confirm the casualties and the occurrence of these attacks. However, local sources said that an explosion occurred around 4:30pm in the Jabal al-Sarraj area of Parwan province.

The laws include distributing land to returning refugees, renting government land, and arranging privileges and facilities for returning industrialists and businessmen, the Taliban said.

The Taliban's Ministry of Justice wrote in a statement on Thursday (December 19) that the laws have been "enforced and registered in the official gazette" after being signed by the group's leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada.

The Taliban has published a law on the distribution of land to returning refugees under the title of "Procedure of the Land Distribution Board for Returning Refugees”.

The law states that according to the decree of Hibatullah Akhundzada, "houses and land" will be distributed to the returning refugees at the central and provincial levels.

According to the text of the law on the distribution of land to the returned refugees, the Taliban intends to establish specific settlements for the refugees in areas with livelihood facilities in the centre and provinces.

Earlier, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) announced that more than 1.2 million Afghan refugees returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan and Iran in 2024.

These migrants, some of whom have lived in these host countries for decades, face housing and livelihood problems in Afghanistan.

However, some Taliban opponents have previously criticised the movement of migrants in northern Afghanistan.

In one instance, the National Council of Resistance for the Salvation of Afghanistan said in November last year that the Taliban intended to change the social fabric of the region by relocating refugees deported from Pakistan to northern Afghanistan.

The council stressed that the Taliban is endangering the coexistence and security of the region with their "divisive plans" and "politicisation" of the settlement of refugees.

Public Land Lease Law

The Taliban's Ministry of Justice has also announced the implementation and publication of the law on renting government lands.

The law aims to lease state land to individuals, businessmen and investors and make effective use of them, the group said.

The statement said that the Taliban's Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock will be the authority to implement this law.

The law will also address issues such as disputes over leased land, violations, cases of termination of lease and obtaining guarantees from tenants, the Taliban said.

On Thursday, the Taliban's Ministry of Justice also announced the implementation and publication of a third law, entitled "Procedure for Regulating Privileges and Facilities for Returning Industrialists and Traders”.

According to the text of the law, this document will provide privileges and facilities for Afghan refugees who want to return to Afghanistan and carry out business activities in the country.

He said that the relevant departments have been instructed to investigate the cause of the two accidents as soon as possible.

The two incidents occurred at a distance of 15 kilometers from each other.

A Taliban spokesman wrote on Thursday, December 19, that such incidents should be prevented from happening again in Afghanistan.

Sources claimed that the death toll is likely to rise.

The Kabul-Kandahar highway has often witnessed fatal traffic accidents.

Former Afghan presidents Ashraf Ghani and Hamid Karzai expressed their condolences in separate messages.