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At least 450,000 refugees, mostly Afghans, deported from Iran in past three months
At least 450,000 undocumented refugees, mostly from Afghanistan, have been deported from Iran in the last three months, Iranian officials say.
Javad Khani, an official at Iran’s National Migration Organization (NMO), was quoted as saying by state-run news agency IRNA on Saturday that the deportation of “irregular migrants” is ongoing.
He said the individuals who have been deported had “illegally entered” the country and their deportation is being carried out in eight provinces based on a “comprehensive plan.”
Khani said Tehran, Sistan and Baluchestan, Razavi Khorasan, Qom, Kerman, Yazd, Fars, and Alborz have the highest number of refugees, most of them from Afghanistan.
These eight provinces, he said, account for 92% of the refugee population in the country, Anadolu News Agency reported.
The official added that one million smart identification cards have so far been issued to documented refugees across the country.
Officials estimate there are four million Afghan refugees in the country - both documented and undocumented.
Khani also said Iran is considering the blocking of border crossings as an option to deal with the entry of illegal migrants.
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Afghanistan carries out retaliatory attack against Pakistan
The Ministry of National Defense said on Saturday it has attacked "centers and hideouts of evil elements and their supporters" across the Durand Line.
"Several points across the hypothetical line including centers and hideouts of evil elements and their supporters from where attacks were organized in Afghanistan were attacked in revenge from the southeast of the country," the ministry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, sources said that retaliatory attacks across the Durand Line began last night from Alisher district of Khost province and Dand Patan district of Paktia province and continued until morning.
According to sources, light and heavy weapons were used in the clashes.
Earlier, Pakistan launched airstrikes in Paktika's Barmal district on Tuesday, killing and wounding dozens of people.
The Ministry of National Defense of Afghanistan had warned that the attacks would not go unanswered.
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Syria is ‘more strategically important’ to US than Afghanistan: Khalilzad
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US envoy for Afghanistan peace, said that he had urged senior officials in the Joe Biden administration to take a more active approach toward Syria.
According to a report by the New York Times published on Friday, Khalilzad said the Biden administration made a mistake by refraining from having more direct contact with the Islamic Emirate after it came to power in 2021.
He said the recent meeting of the US delegation with Ahmed al-Sharaa, the new Syrian ruler, in Damascus was a positive step.
“Not that prematurely engaging doesn’t have risks,” Khalilzad said. “But I think there is an element of timing, of shaping things.” He added that Syria is “more strategically important” to the United States than Afghanistan, making the task more urgent.
Meanwhile, Khalilzad on Friday reiterated that the Doha Agreement states that a new government in Afghanistan would be determined by negotiations and dialogue between the IEA and other Afghan sides.
"The Doha Agreement did not define the nature of Afghan political systam, but it clearly stated that a new government would be determined by negotiations and dialogue between the Taliban and other Afghan sides," Khalilzad said on X. "The challenge for Afghans, Taliban and others, is how to deliver on this commitment, given current realities."
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Pakistan’s forced repatriation of Afghan refugees has fueled hatred: Imran Khan
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the forced deportation of Afghan refugees, which was intended to reduce terrorism, has actually created hatred that is detrimental to regional peace.
Speaking to reporters in Adiala Jail, Khan criticized Pakistan's recent airstrikes on Afghanistan and said that this is the second time Pakistan is bombing Afghanistan.
He also criticized that Bilawal Bhutto did not visit Afghanistan even once when he was the Pakistani foreign minister, while this should have been a priority.
Imran Khan recalled that he had told the then Pakistani Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa not to replace the head of the intelligence agency, General Faiz Hamid, because the situation in Afghanistan would be very different after the withdrawal of American forces, but he did not accept this only to extend his term, which led to an increase in terrorist attacks in Pakistan.
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