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Iran walls off part of border with Afghanistan

Iran shares a more than 900 km border with Afghanistan, and hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the world.

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Iran’s military has built a wall along more than 10 kilometers of its eastern border with Afghanistan, the main entry point for immigrants, Iranian media reported Monday.

“More than 10 kilometers of walls have been built on the border and another 50 kilometers is ready to be walled off,” ISNA news agency said, citing General Nozar Nemati, deputy commander of army ground forces, AFP reported.

Iran shares a more than 900 km border with Afghanistan, and hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the world.

The flow of Afghan immigrants has increased since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan took over in August 2021 after US forces withdrew.

Tehran has not given official figures for the number of Afghan immigrants, but member of parliament Abolfazl Torabi has estimated their number at “between six and seven million”.

The authorities have recently increased pressure on “illegal” refugees, regularly announcing expulsions through the eastern border.

“By blocking the border, we want to control the country’s entries and exits” and “better increase the security of border areas”, Nemati said.

In September, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said Iran would employ other methods including barbed wire and water-filled ditches in addition to the wall to block the border.

On September 13, the spokesman for the parliamentary National Security Committee, Ebrahim Rezaei, said police plan to “expel more than two million illegal citizens in the near future”.

According to the official IRNA news agency, Afghans represent “more than 90 percent of foreign nationals” in Iran, and “most of them enter the country without identity papers”.

President Masoud Pezeshkian has said his government plans to “repatriate illegal nationals to their country in a respectful manner”.

In the year starting in March 2023 Iran hosted more than 2.7 million documented Afghan refugees, according to the Statistics Centre.

That figure represents 97 per cent of legal migrants in the country.

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G7 envoys urge national dialogue for lasting stability in Afghanistan

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Special Representatives of the Group of Seven (G7), including the European Union, have emphasized the importance of a national dialogue for achieving long-term stability in Afghanistan.

Following a meeting on Afghanistan in Geneva, Switzerland, G7 special envoys issued a joint statement calling for the restoration of women's rights and urging the Islamic Emirate to fight terrorism.

The statement reads: "Achieving sustainable peace and stability requires credible governance that represents all segments of Afghan society."

The representatives also expressed concern over the IEA’s decision to ban girls from attending medical institutes, warning that it will have devastating consequences for the citizens, particularly mothers and their infants.

The statement described this ban as unacceptable and called on the Afghan authorities to lift it immediately.

Earlier, countries and international organizations had called for the removal of restrictions on the education and employment of women and girls, emphasizing the need for a national dialogue.

In response to these concerns, IEA has repeatedly stated that it will not allow interference in the internal affairs of the country.

The G7 special envoys also expressed their concern about the recent terrorist attacks in Kabul and the surrounding region, warning that terrorism remains a serious threat to Afghanistan's security. They confirmed the actions of the IEA against Daesh but stressed the need for more decisive measures.

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Afghanistan’s bright future lies in educating girls: Karzai

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Hamid Karzai, the former president of Afghanistan, says the demand of Afghan girls for the reopening of schools and universities is their fundamental right and adds that Afghanistan cannot have a bright future without ensuring access to education for girls.

In a statement on his X (formerly Twitter) account, Karzai said: "The demand and voice of our country’s girls for education and knowledge is a rightful one and crucial for a prosperous Afghanistan."

He further emphasized, "Empowering the youth—both girls and boys—is the only way to achieve self-reliance, break the cycle of poverty, and drive the development and prosperity of society."

Karzai underscored that education is vital for Afghanistan’s growth and development, expressing hope that the doors of schools and universities for girls will be reopened as soon as possible.

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IEA to set up special courts to address pensions

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Mawlawi Hebatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), has issued a decree to establish special courts to address pensions, Bakhtar news agency reported on Saturday.

According to the decree, the courts must confirm and process pensions in accordance with Sharia and law.

Pensioners have repeatedly voiced concern over delay in payment, saying that their financial challenges are growing.

Earlier this year, IEA's supreme leader banned money being deducted from salaries of government employees for pensions.

He also requested information on the tenure of employees and the total amount deducted from salaries for pensions.

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