In Iran, millions of Afghans are facing the threat of expulsion
The Iranian government is currently carrying out one of its largest expulsion campaigns targeting refugees, primarily Afghan nationals, who make up the vast majority of migrants in the country. Of the approximately six million Afghans who have settled in Iran – fleeing war, political instability and economic crises – the two million who hold a temporary document granting them a provisional residence permit are now being threatened with expulsion. Much like undocumented migrants, nearly four million Afghans now risk being sent out of the country.
These two million people hold a "registration slip," a document issued by Iranian authorities to undocumented migrants while awaiting possible regularization. Until March, their presence in the country was tolerated. Since then, after an announcement from the ministry declared that they would be denied access to basic services (education, healthcare, housing), the pressure has only mounted and expulsions have begun. At the end of May, the Interior Ministry ordered these migrants to book an appointment before June 7 to start a regularization process; after this deadline, they would be considered undocumented. Of the two million holders of this document, only six categories of people will be allowed to legally remain in the country – among them, former military personnel of the previous Afghan regime, before the Taliban takeover in August 2021. For everyone else, the deadline to leave remains set at July 6.
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France 24
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- France 24
Taliban hang up Kalashnikovs to pen memoirs of Afghan war
A flood of books has been written, mostly from a Western perspective, about the war between the US-led forces that invaded Afghanistan in the wake of the September 11 attacks until the Taliban's return to power in 2021. But in the years since, a proliferation of writings by Taliban figures -- praising their exploits and the achievements of the "Islamic Emirate" -- is now the reigning narrative in Afghanistan. "No matter what foreigners have written... they have largely ignored the reality of what happened to us and why we were forced to fight," author Khalid Zadran told AFP. A member of the Haqqani network -- long viewed as one of the most dangerous militant factions in Afghanistan -- he now serves as the spokesman for the capital's police force. In his 600-page tome in Pashto published in April, he recounts US incursions in his home province of Khost, his childhood steeped in stories of soldiers' "atrocities", and his desire to join the Taliban in the name of his country's "freedom". "I witnessed horrific stories every day -- mangled bodies on the roadside," he writes in "15 Minutes", a title inspired by a US drone strike he narrowly escaped. Muhajer Farahi, now a deputy information and culture minister, penned his "Memories of Jihad: 20 Years in Occupation" to "state the facts", he said. "America, contrary to its claims, has committed cruel and barbaric acts, destroyed our country with bombs, destroyed infrastructure, and has sown discord and cynicism between nations and tribes," he told AFP from his office in central Kabul. Little attention is paid in either book to the thousands of civilians killed in Taliban attacks -- many of them suicide bombings that entrenched fear across the country for nearly two decades. Farahi insists the Taliban "were cautious in saving civilians and innocent" lives, while criticising fellow Afghans who collaborated with the pro-Western police as a "stain" on the country. Rights groups accuse the current Taliban authorities of widespread abuses -- particularly against women and girls, who the United Nations say are victims of what amounts to "gender apartheid". In his book published in 2023, Farahi claims the Taliban attempted to negotiate -- in vain, he insists -- with the United States over the fate of Osama bin Laden, whose capture or death Washington demanded after his plane hijackers killed around 3,000 people in the September 11, 2001 attacks. Bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda, who had been based in Afghanistan, was killed by US forces in Pakistan in 2011. American 'bloodthirsty dragon' "It was clear... that the Americans had already planned the occupation of Afghanistan," writes Farahi in the English version of his book, which has been translated into five languages. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, Afghans thought it would "have nothing to do with our country", he continues, but soon realised that Afghanistan would face "punishment". For 20 years, the war pitted Taliban militants against a US-led coalition of 38 countries supporting the Afghan Republic and its forces. Tens of thousands of Afghans died in the fighting and in Taliban attacks, as did nearly 6,000 foreign soldiers, including 2,400 Americans. For Farahi, the war reflects the West's desire to "impose its culture and ideology on other nations". His disjointed journal mixes battlefield memories with polemical chapters railing against the American "bloodthirsty dragon". The book "reveals the truths that were not told before because the media, especially the Western media, presented a different picture of the war", he said. According to him, the "mujahideen", or holy warriors, despite being far less equipped, were able to rely on their unity and God's aid to achieve victory. New front Only a few of the new wave of Taliban books have been autobiographies, which appeal to an audience seeking to understand the war "from the inside", according to Zadran. His book, initially 2,000 copies in Pashto, sold out quickly and another 1,000 are in the works -- along with a Dari-language version, he said. Many chapters mention Bowe Bergdahl, the US soldier held hostage for five years by the Haqqani network. He recounts treks through the mountains along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to move him between hideouts, efforts to convert him to Islam and conversations about his girlfriend back in the United States. Both accounts end in 2021, before the transformation of the fighters who moved from remote mountain hideouts to the carpeted offices of the capital. There, their battle has turned diplomatic: the Taliban are now fighting for international recognition of their government. "The war is over now," Farahi said, "and we want good relations with everyone" -- even with the "bloodthirsty dragon".
LeMonde
a day ago
- LeMonde
In Iran, millions of Afghans are facing the threat of expulsion
The Iranian government is currently carrying out one of its largest expulsion campaigns targeting refugees, primarily Afghan nationals, who make up the vast majority of migrants in the country. Of the approximately six million Afghans who have settled in Iran – fleeing war, political instability and economic crises – the two million who hold a temporary document granting them a provisional residence permit are now being threatened with expulsion. Much like undocumented migrants, nearly four million Afghans now risk being sent out of the country. These two million people hold a "registration slip," a document issued by Iranian authorities to undocumented migrants while awaiting possible regularization. Until March, their presence in the country was tolerated. Since then, after an announcement from the ministry declared that they would be denied access to basic services (education, healthcare, housing), the pressure has only mounted and expulsions have begun. At the end of May, the Interior Ministry ordered these migrants to book an appointment before June 7 to start a regularization process; after this deadline, they would be considered undocumented. Of the two million holders of this document, only six categories of people will be allowed to legally remain in the country – among them, former military personnel of the previous Afghan regime, before the Taliban takeover in August 2021. For everyone else, the deadline to leave remains set at July 6.
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Afghan women UN staff forced to work from home after threats
Multiple women working for various UN agencies told AFP on condition of anonymity they had been threatened on the street and over the phone by men warning them to "stay home". UN staffer Huda -- not her real name -- said that for weeks she has been bombarded with messages abusing her for "working with foreigners". "The messages keep coming and they are always harassing us... saying, 'Don't let me see you again, or else'," the young woman told AFP. She said her office had advised her to work from home until further notice. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) confirmed that UN staff had been threatened. "Several United Nations female national staff members in the Afghan capital Kabul have been subjected to threats by unidentified individuals related to their work with the UN," it said in a statement. Considering the threats "extremely serious", the UN has taken "interim" measures "to ensure the safety and security of staff members", it added. The Taliban government, accused by the UN of imposing a "gender apartheid" against women since returning to power in 2021, has denied any involvement. Interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said such threats were a "crime" and that police would take action. UNAMA said the authorities had opened an investigation. 'You are not allowed' Since seizing power in 2021, the Taliban authorities have severely restricted Afghan women from working and it is the only country in the world where women are banned from education beyond primary school. The government in 2022 banned women from working for domestic and international NGOs, which was extended to include the UN's offices in the country the following year. The policy has some exceptions including for women working in healthcare and education, and has not been consistently enforced. The UN has previously called the policy "deeply discriminatory". Selsela, in her 30s, said while returning from the office last week she was approached by unknown men who told her she should be "ashamed" and that she must "stay home". "They said, 'We told you nicely this time, but next time you'll have another thing coming'," she told AFP. "I was very scared," she said, explaining how she struggles to work efficiently from home in a country where electricity and internet are unreliable. "The situation for women is getting worse every day." Another woman, Rahila, said she and two other women colleagues were stopped by men while travelling home in a UN vehicle and told not to go to the office anymore. "They said, 'Don't you know that you are not allowed?'," Rahila said, adding that she has also received threatening messages from unknown numbers. "I am very worried, I need my job and my salary," she said. Three-quarters of Afghanistan's population of some 45 million people struggle to meet their daily needs, according to the UN, with the country facing one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
