Afghan Consulate Staff In Bonn Threaten Resignation If Taliban Diplomats Are Accepted

Speaking Tuesday in Tehran during a meeting with Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees, Minister of Education Alireza Kazemi said Iran provides extensive educational services to Afghan migrants, including free enrolment in public schools.

Kazemi said the presence of Afghan students has strained the country’s education system, leading to overcrowded classrooms and what he described as a decline in academic performance among Iranian students. He added that Iran is facing a shortage of educational infrastructure and that the public expects government resources to be focused on domestic needs.

Despite these challenges, Kazemi said Iran is ready to provide formal education to all Afghan students through its national remote learning platform. He proposed delivering instruction under a trilateral cooperation agreement and issuing valid academic certificates under Iran’s virtual school framework.

Grandi, who is visiting Iran amid a spike in deportations of Afghan migrants, acknowledged during the meeting that additional funding is needed. He said current constraints have limited the UN’s ability to increase financial support.

He also addressed the Taliban’s continued ban on girls’ education in Afghanistan and said international aid is critical to addressing the broader crisis.

Grandi later met with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. According to Iranian state media, the two discussed facilitating the voluntary return of Afghan refugees.

The UN refugee agency has proposed a trilateral meeting with representatives from Iran and the Taliban, warning that Afghanistan does not have the economic or social capacity to absorb the high number of migrants being deported from neighbouring countries.

The incident occurred in the village of Kuchan in the Kohistan district on Tuesday. According to local sources, the initial clash broke out between Taliban members over a land dispute, leaving one fighter dead. Taliban intelligence officials later arrested the alleged perpetrator.

While transporting the suspect to the district center, the Taliban intelligence vehicle was ambushed near the Khawamat crossroads by armed men, reportedly riding six motorcycles. A second gunbattle ensued, during which the detained fighter was also killed, sources said.

The Taliban have not commented publicly on the incident or the reported deaths.

This is not the first instance of infighting among Taliban ranks. Similar internal disputes have previously resulted in violence in provinces including Baghlan, Badakhshan, and other areas.

Filippo Grandi, the UN refugee chief, made the appeal during his visit to Iran on Tuesday, where he met with Iranian Interior Minister Esmail Momeni to discuss the situation.

Grandi stressed that Afghanistan lacks the economic and social capacity to manage the return of tens of thousands of migrants in a short period and urged a phased and voluntary repatriation process.

Momeni said individuals suffering from serious health conditions or whose lives are in danger would not be deported. He added that the deportation process had not involved the use of force and emphasised the cultural, historical and religious ties between the two countries.

Iranian officials said they have worked to prevent the deportation policy from creating tensions between Iranian citizens and Afghan migrants.

Grandi called for a collaborative approach and proposed a three-party dialogue between Iran, the Taliban, and the UNHCR to develop a structured and humane return mechanism.

Nader Yar Ahmadi, an adviser to Iran’s interior minister and head of the Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs, said international assistance has been insufficient. He noted that aid received so far does not match the scale of Iran’s efforts to manage the Afghan refugee population.

Iran and Pakistan have deported hundreds of thousands of Afghans in recent months, citing visa expirations and security concerns. Human rights groups have warned the forced returns could trigger a worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

Taliban forces arrested Abdul Malik on July 8 at a mosque in Kabul’s 15th police district and transferred him to an undisclosed location. His family was initially unaware of his whereabouts or the authority responsible for his detention. It was later confirmed that he had been moved from Kabul to Panjshir.

Sources close to Abdul Malik said his physical and mental condition had worsened following two weeks in detention, during which he was allegedly subjected to torture.

This marks the second time the Taliban have detained Abdul Malik. In 2022, he was arrested over alleged links to the anti-Taliban resistance front and was held for nearly two years before being released. His relatives have denied any connection to resistance forces.

Abdul Malik is known as one of Panjshir’s most respected religious figures. He served for years as deputy head of the provincial religious council and headed two Islamic seminaries, Mawlawi Abdul Wahid and Bibi Aisha Siddiqa, in Abdullahkhel village, Dara district.

Since regaining control of Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban have arrested thousands of individuals across the country on suspicion of supporting or participating in armed resistance movements.

The detentions were reportedly carried out without formal judicial orders.

Afghanistan International had previously reported on the existence of a clandestine prison operating inside the Taliban-controlled Ministry of Justice. Reliable sources have confirmed that, in recent years, multiple individuals have been held in this facility on the direct orders of Minister Sharei, bypassing legal channels.

In the latest case, four senior officials from the Hazrat Wali Asr Charity Foundation, an organisation affiliated with Ayatollah Vaezzada Behsoodi, were detained during a visit to the ministry for registration purposes. According to sources, the arrests followed inquiries by the individuals into the foundation’s financial matters. The detentions were made at the direct order of the minister.

The detainees have been identified as Haji Mohammad Taqi Ansari, head of the foundation; Hassan Nikzad, deputy head; Baqer Akhlaqi, office manager; and Wakil Chaman, an adviser to the foundation. They were initially held for several hours within the ministry before being transferred to Taliban intelligence custody, where they remained for approximately one week.

Afghanistan International contacted Abdul Hamid Jihadyar, the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice spokesperson, for comment, but he declined to respond.

This is not the first time reports have surfaced of arbitrary arrests linked to the Ministry of Justice. Earlier, Afghanistan International revealed that Haidar Jan Naemzoi, a former Afghan parliamentarian, was also held in the same private facility.

In a separate incident last December, Sharei reportedly ordered the arrest of 30 residents of the Sanatorium area in Kabul after they opposed forced evictions. Sources said the residents were summoned under the pretext of verifying land ownership documents and subsequently handed over to the police.

Following publication of these incidents, the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice claimed that, under orders from the Taliban leader, the minister holds the authority to detain individuals for up to ten days in land usurpation cases.

While the ministry did not name Naemzoi directly, it appeared to confirm his detention, referring to the arrest of a “rebellious” individual by the anti-land usurpation commission and his subsequent transfer to Kabul provincial authorities.