Migration of Afghan Elites From Iran Harmful For Country, Says University Prof. In Tehran

An assistant professor at Allameh Tabataba’i University said at a conference in Tehran on Wednesday that many elites from Afghanistan migrated to Iran after the Taliban came to power.

Mandana Tishehyar called them human capital and considered their migration to Western countries to be detrimental for Iran.

In the talk "Immigration of Scientific Elites in Iran Today, Challenges and Solutions," this university professor said that Afghan immigration to Iran began in the 1970s and now their second and third generations are present in Iran, those who, according to Tishehyar, were educated and raised in Iran.

According to IRNA, Tishehyar said that after the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan, a wave of people left the country, "including educated people such as university professors, students, doctors, engineers, lawyers, economists, sociologists, journalists, writers, and athletes who brought financial capital to Iran in addition to human capital”.

Tishehyar, pointing out that these people leave Iran for Western countries, America, and Australia after a while for various reasons, said, "No effort was made to ensure their continued existence. The migration of this group of Afghans from Iran is not in the country's interest and will end up being detrimental to Iran in the long run."

The university professor went on to say that as Afghan immigrants leave Iran, “their next generation will become alienated from the Persian language”. She said, “Elite Afghan immigrants could have helped Iran solve some issues such as smuggling, security, counter-terrorism, the environment, climate change, and the water issue.”

The assistant professor at Allameh Tabataba‘i University also pointed out the issue of preventing women and girls from getting an education in Afghanistan, saying that preventing women from getting an education by the Taliban "will result in their children not being educated properly in the future, which will have consequences for Iran as well”.

This university professor in Tehran criticises the lack of efforts to retain elite Afghan immigrants, even though in recent months the Islamic Republic has launched a massive campaign to collect and deport Afghan immigrants from their country.

In addition, restrictions on the education of children of immigrant families have increased, and employment and even settlement of Afghans have been banned in many Iranian cities.

The harsh treatment and inappropriate treatment of Afghan immigrants by law enforcement officials and, in some cases, by Iranian citizens has made it difficult for families to consider staying in Iran. In recent years, many Afghans have tried to move to European countries, the United States, and Australia.