Iran Expels Over 1 Million Afghans In 100 Days, Says Tehran Governor

Marking the third anniversary of Habibi’s detention, Ahmad Shah Habibi said his brother had no ties to the CIA and had never cooperated with the agency.

The Taliban detained Habibi in connection with the 2022 killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul, though he had returned to the Afghan capital from the United Arab Emirates five days after the operation. Ahmad Shah said US agencies failed to warn his brother or prevent his return.

He claimed the CIA continues to provide funding and intelligence to the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence, the same body he alleges is responsible for his brother’s detention.

The Taliban denies holding Habibi, but US officials believe he is in their custody. Washington has offered a $5 million reward for information on his whereabouts. Ahmad Shah said repeated requests to meet with CIA officials have gone unanswered, and he urged the agency to use its contacts to negotiate his brother’s release.

He warned that if his brother dies in Taliban custody, the CIA will bear responsibility.

Mansoor had claimed that Pakistan could not tolerate a strong central government in Afghanistan and viewed the Taliban no differently from the Mujahideen. He also alleged that Islamabad feared an independent, self-reliant Afghanistan under any leadership.

Speaking at a press briefing on Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said no country has a greater stake in Afghanistan’s stability than Pakistan. He added that the Pakistani government would raise Mansoor’s remarks directly with the Taliban administration.

Diplomatic Ties Upgraded

Khan also announced that Pakistan’s diplomatic relations with the Taliban have been elevated to the ambassadorial level under a bilateral agreement. He said the Taliban envoy in Pakistan now enjoys full ambassadorial protocol and that “no further action is required.”

The spokesperson confirmed that Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi will visit Pakistan, though no date has been set.

Earlier, a US source told Afghanistan International that Washington had blocked Muttaqi’s planned visit in response to the Taliban’s continued denial of detaining Mahmood Shah Habibi, an Afghan-American citizen. The source added that US pressure on the Taliban was “only just beginning.”

He has also stressed on tighter enforcement of the Taliban’s “propagation of virtue” law, during a coordination meeting of senior officials from northern Afghanistan.

According to the Taliban, the meeting, held in Sar-e Pol province on Friday, brought together governors, police chiefs, intelligence directors, and members of the religious scholars council from Balkh, Jowzjan, Faryab, Samangan, and Sar-e Pol.

The Balkh governor’s office said the session focused on applying Akhundzada’s decrees, reviewing regional security, and strengthening the Taliban’s governance system. Wafa told attendees the orders should be implemented first within government offices before being explained to the public by clerics.

Officials at the meeting agreed that at least four of the leader’s decrees should be read aloud and explained at all official gatherings. The statement said participants also discussed preventing the removal of Taliban fighters from government roles, imposing restrictions on smartphone use, and “facilitating the implementation of Sharia punishments” for offenders.

Wafa urged vigilance against security threats, telling officials to “work to neutralise the enemy’s malicious plans in time.”

Considered one of Akhundzada’s close allies, Wafa wields significant authority in northern Afghanistan and regularly receives performance reports on Taliban governors in the region.

The commission said 4,722 migrants returned via the Islam Qala crossing, while 886 crossed back into Afghanistan through the Pul-e Abrisham border point.

In a statement, the commission said the returnees collectively received 8.7 million afghanis in cash assistance. It added that 1,244 of them were transferred to the provinces of Baghlan, Kunduz, Takhar, Balkh, Jowzjan, Badakhshan and Sar-e Pul.

The announcement came a day after the Taliban reported that Iran had deported 5,936 Afghan migrants. Large-scale expulsions from Iran remain ongoing.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has previously warned about the mass return of Afghans from neighbouring countries and called for urgent funding to address their needs. According to the IOM, more than 4 million Afghans have returned from Iran and Pakistan since September 2023.

The breach exposed their identities and heightened the risks they face under Taliban rule.

In a statement sent to media outlets, several ex-servicemen said that human lives should not be left at the mercy of arbitrary decisions.

The controversy follows a 2022 leak of sensitive documents containing personal details of Afghans who supported British troops. The information was circulated online in 2023. Initially kept confidential under a court order, the case became public in 2025 after the High Court forced the government to disclose it. A secret relocation scheme was later launched, but many say their cases remain unresolved or unfairly rejected.

Applicants under the UK’s Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) say they received mass rejections without adequate review. Speaking to Afghanistan International, one former Afghan special forces soldier said: “I applied for ARAP in 2022 and was rejected in 2023. Many of my colleagues were also denied. In early 2025, I received an email saying my case was under review again but today, Friday, several of us received emails confirming our applications were rejected again.”

He added that his former unit, consisting of around 50 soldiers who worked on the same missions with British troops, saw inconsistent decisions. “Some were accepted, others weren’t. It makes no sense,” he said.

Several of the veterans say they remain in hiding due to security threats. One said a colleague was recently detained by the Taliban after documents linking him to British forces were discovered on his phone. He has been missing for nearly a month.

‘Our Voices Must Be Heard’

In a joint statement, a group of former Afghan soldiers said that despite submitting detailed evidence of their collaboration, including videos, photos, official commendations, and threats against them, their ARAP applications were rejected for reasons such as “lack of formal contracts” or “unverifiable documentation.”

They argued that during joint combat operations, formal contracts were rarely issued, and cooperation with British forces was often informal but well-documented.

One applicant said his photos and videos with British troops were dismissed by UK authorities on the grounds that “British officers’ faces were not clearly identifiable” or that “his presence in the images could not be confirmed.”

The group is now calling on UK parliamentarians, human rights organisations, and the media to push for an independent and transparent review of the ARAP application process.

Iran Seeks Names of Afghan Collaborators

Meanwhile, The Telegraph has reported that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has asked the Taliban to provide a list of roughly 25,000 Afghans who worked with British forces. According to the report, Iran aims to identify individuals with potential links to the UK’s foreign intelligence agency, MI6, and may use the information to gain leverage in ongoing nuclear negotiations with the West.

The list reportedly includes the names of more than 100 British special forces and intelligence officers.