Place Where Afghan Refugees Targeted Is Security Zone, Says Iranian Official

The Taliban's Supreme Court wrote that it had punished these individuals on charges of sexual relations, forgery of documents, and bribery in public.

The Taliban's Supreme Court on Thursday, October 18, announced in separate statements the punishment of 14 people in Kabul and Khost province, writing that it had sentenced each of the seven individuals in Khost province with 35 lashes in public and sentenced each of them to one year in prison. The court said that it sentenced the eighth individual to 39 lashes and two years in prison.

The Taliban's Supreme Court earlier said that it had flogged six people, including two women, in Deh Sabz in Kabul on charges of extramarital affairs and same-sex relations. The court added that it sentenced the individuals to 39 lashes and to prison terms ranging from one year to one year and three months.

Despite the objections of international human rights organisations, the Taliban has continued to inflict corporal punishment and torture on defendants in public. The group's Supreme Court reports daily on public punishment of defendants across Afghanistan.

International human rights organisations have complained about the trial process of individuals by Taliban courts, criticising the defendants' lack of access to a lawyer and a fair trial.

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).

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.

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.

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.