ISIS-K Has Been Revived In Afghanistan, Claims Prominent American Politician

Recently, Iran and Pakistan, two of Afghanistan's neighbours, have intensified the arrest and deportation of Afghan refugees.

On Tuesday, January 7, the Taliban's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation posted a statement on its account on social media platform X, saying that while distributing land to refugees in Daman district of Kandahar province, Fitrat asked countries to allow Afghan refugees to return to the country voluntarily.

"Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat, Chief of Staff of the Taliban Army, called on countries that forcibly deport Afghan refugees to stop oppressing them and allow Afghan refugees to return to their country voluntarily," the statement quoted Fitrat as saying.

Fitrat also asked the Taliban authorities to prepare the ground for the return of Afghan refugees to the country so that they can live peacefully in the country.

In recent days, Pakistani police have raided the homes of Afghan refugees in different parts of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, arresting migrants, including women and children, and transferring them to detention centres.

In some cases, Pakistani police have also arrested some Afghan citizens who had visas and legal residency documents in Pakistan. So far, a large number of Afghan refugees have been deported to Afghanistan after being arrested by Pakistani police.

The Taliban's embassy in Islamabad announced on Monday that Pakistani police have arrested about 800 Afghan citizens, including holders of visas, POR and immigration cards, in Islamabad.

Expressing concern over the issue, the Taliban embassy said, "The lack of clarity on the conditions for obtaining an NOC (residence permit) has caused worrying cases of arbitrary detention and deportation."

Gohar stressed that UNHCR is a "silent spectator" in the face of these actions. She urged the organisation to defend the rights of vulnerable Afghans, especially women and children.

On Monday, January 6, Bushra Gohar, a human rights activist and former member of Pakistan's parliament, reacted to the detention of Afghan refugees in Islamabad by publishing notes on the social media platform X.

The arrests appear to have been ordered by Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and should be stopped immediately, she said.

Gohar stressed that Afghan migrant women, children and the elderly should be released from detention centers immediately.

The former member of Pakistan's parliament referred to the United Nations as a "silent spectator" and called on the organisation to defend the rights of vulnerable Afghans, especially women and girls.

"Please explain why this inhumane repression against Afghan families living in Islamabad has begun. Women, children and the elderly are rounded up by police trucks. Many of them have valid documents or are in the process of receiving documents."

Bushra Gohar also stressed that after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, families have been forced to flee the country.

Bushra Gohar is a Pakistani politician and one of the senior leaders of the National Democratic Movement. She was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013.

Pakistani police have recently resumed house-to-house searches to detain and deport Afghan refugees. Pakistan's move has been met with strong reactions from human rights organisations.

Baghaei said that since the planning of the construction of water dams in Afghanistan, the issue has been on the agenda of the Islamic Republic's follow-up.

According to IRNA news agency, in response to a question about the construction of dams in Afghanistan, Baghaei said, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the custodian of the country's diplomacy, has pursued the issue of supplying Iran's rights from the border and shared rivers as one of its fixed agendas."

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson added that the history of pursuing the issue of Iran's water rights from the Harirud border river dates back to the early 2010s.

Baghaei said at a press conference, "Since the planning for the construction of a number of dams inside Afghanistan was made, the issue was put on the agenda of the Islamic Republic of Iran's follow-up, and our objections in this regard were also recorded."

"The water that has flowed from Afghanistan to Iran over thousands or millions of years creates rights for all parties on both sides of the border," the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Baghaei said that in some cases, Iran has "specific documents and agreements”. Citing customary international law and taking into account "environmental considerations and, perhaps more importantly, the principle of good neighbourliness", he added, the Islamic Republic expects the Taliban to consider this issue "seriously".

According to Baghaei, Alireza Bikdeli, the Islamic Republic's ambassador to Kabul, is following up on the issue of the dispute over water rights, and in Tehran, "we are using all the facilities we have to follow up on the issue”.

Iran's water rights from the rivers on the border and shared with Afghanistan, especially in recent years when the construction of dams along the Helmand River has increased, has become a serious issue and in some cases a source of tension between the Islamic Republic and the former Afghan government, as well as the Taliban government.

Officials of the Islamic Republic have described the construction of water dams, including Salma, Pashdan, and Bakhshabad dams, as a serious threat to the downstream areas, including Khorasan Razavi, as well as Sistan and Baluchestan province.

The Helmand River is one of the main sources of water supply in the eastern regions of Iran, especially in Sistan and Baluchestan province. According to the 1972 treaty, Afghanistan is committed to securing Iran's share of water rights from the Helmand River.

The Pakistani government had started detaining Afghan refugees in Islamabad on Friday.

The Taliban's media office in Nangarhar on Monday, January 6, wrote on social media platform X that many of those who were arrested and then deported to Afghanistan also had legal documents.

The Taliban has said that many of these people were held in Pakistani police custody for one to two months.

The Taliban report states that these individuals were handed over to the group in Torkham after their release.

Reports in Pakistan indicate that in the past four days, the harassment and detention of Afghan migrants and asylum seekers in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, has intensified. On the other hand, the Taliban's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations has announced that Islamabad police have arrested 127 Afghans during an operation.

According to reports, Pakistani police forces have arrested and imprisoned dozens of Afghan refugees, including women and children, in the operation.

The fate of the recent detainees remains unclear.

Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Monday expressed concern over Pakistan's airstrikes on Barmal district of Paktika in response to media queries.

"We have taken note of media reports of airstrikes on Afghan civilians, including women and children," Jaiswal said. "We unequivocally condemn any attack on innocent civilians."

"It is a long-standing practice for Pakistan to blame its neighbours for its internal failures," he said.

Pakistani airstrikes killed at least 46 people, including several women and children, in Barmal district of Paktika.

The Indian newspaper "Times of India" wrote that Pakistani airstrikes on seven villages, especially the village of Laman, caused significant casualties, wherein five members of a family were killed in the strikes.

After these attacks, tensions on the border increased, and the Afghan Taliban, along with their Pakistani allies, launched attacks on the border posts of Pakistani forces.