Kabul
A viral video has been circulating on social media platforms that shows how Afghan refugees are being “harassed” in the neighbouring country Iran.
The video circulated shows the Afghan refugees being tortured and misbehaved in public.
The Afghan refugees flew to Iran seeking shelters after the Taliban takeover last August.
Many of them do not have the legal documents or visas which leads to their harassment.
“I went to Iran four months ago. But due to their bad treatment even with people who had visas, I went to the police and surrendered myself to come back to Afghanistan,” said Sayed Mumtaz, an Afghan refugee who returned back to the country.
“The big problem is lack of residential documents. Many people have recently come to this country,” said Nasrullah Kashani, an Afghan refugee in Iran.
Meanwhile, the Taliban requested the Iranian government to treat the Afghan Refugees in a merciful manner, reported Tolo News.
“The Afghans have recently faced a lot of problems. Although we know that some Afghans are going by illegal ways, they must be treated with soft conduct based on Islamic and neighbourly values,” said Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid.
However, the Iranian Embassy in Kabul refuted the claims and called the video fake.
“The videos which are airing on social media are aiming to affect the deep and historic ties between the nations of Iran and Afghanistan,” said Sayed Abas Badrifar, press councillor of the Iran embassy.
“A refugee should have access to health services and education. A refugee should not be deported to his country because his life is under threat and then a refugee should not be punished while being deported,” said Mehdi Afzali, an international relations analyst in the support of refugees.
In addition to it, a women’s rights activist, Asifa Stanikzai also said, “With the negotiation of our team with the Iranian officials, it was realized that there is a need for international cooperation.”
Since the Taliban took over, Afghanistan has not only seen a mass exodus but also the illegal crossings of Afghans into neighbouring countries like Iran via Nimroz province and Turkey. It also led to the killings of nearly 100 of them by the Iranian forces and were later deported to Afghanistan.
