Afghans Flock to Iranian Border

The number of people attempting to cross into Iran from Afghanistan has soared to between 3,000 and 4,000 every day. JAVED TANVEER AFP
The number of people attempting to cross into Iran from Afghanistan has soared to between 3,000 and 4,000 every day. JAVED TANVEER AFP
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Afghans Flock to Iranian Border

The number of people attempting to cross into Iran from Afghanistan has soared to between 3,000 and 4,000 every day. JAVED TANVEER AFP
The number of people attempting to cross into Iran from Afghanistan has soared to between 3,000 and 4,000 every day. JAVED TANVEER AFP

The number of Afghans attempting to cross the border to Iran has soared since the Taliban swept to power almost two months ago, but few make it across, AFP quoted an official as saying.

Before the Taliban came to power on August 15, around 1,000 to 2,000 people crossed to Iran through the Zaranj border station in the southwestern province of Nimroz every month.

But the border commander for Nimroz province, Mohammad Hashem Hanzaleh, told AFP this week that the number of people attempting to cross has since soared to between 3,000 and 4,000 every day.

The hike comes as devastating economic and humanitarian crises lash Afghanistan, with the UN warning that a third of the population faces the threat of famine. But Hanzaleh said that very few had the papers required to cross.

Traders and people holding residence visas, as well as those with visas to seek medical treatment, “are not prevented by Iranian forces,” he said, adding that about 5-600 people were allowed across each day.

For those without their papers attempting to cross, the experience can be harrowing.

Hayatullah, who tried to cross the borders said “Iranian soldiers took our money. They hit our hands, they tore our hands.”

Mohammad Nasim said he had been thwarted three times after trying to scale over the border wall.

Two nights earlier, he said Iranian border guards had opened fire and killed two people trying to get across, including one of his friends.

That did not stop him from returning the next night, only to find himself “captured” and “beaten,” as the guards asked why he was trying to cross without documents.

“If you saw the poverty, hunger and misery of our nation, then you would go to the other side of the border too. We don’t have any other solution,” he said.



Islamabad Urges Tehran's Cooperation over the Killing of 8 Pakistani Nationals in Southeastern Iran

This is a locator map for Pakistan with its capital, Islamabad, and the Kashmir region. (AP Photo)
This is a locator map for Pakistan with its capital, Islamabad, and the Kashmir region. (AP Photo)
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Islamabad Urges Tehran's Cooperation over the Killing of 8 Pakistani Nationals in Southeastern Iran

This is a locator map for Pakistan with its capital, Islamabad, and the Kashmir region. (AP Photo)
This is a locator map for Pakistan with its capital, Islamabad, and the Kashmir region. (AP Photo)

Islamabad has sought Tehran's “full cooperation” over the killing of eight Pakistani nationals in restive southeastern Iran, officials said Monday.

The Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement the killing happened Saturday in Mehrestan County in Sistan and Baluchistan province, about 230 kilometers (142 miles) from the Pakistan-Iran border, urging a thorough investigation, The Associated Press said.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to Iran, Muhammad Mudassir, wrote on X that the eight were laborers and that Islamabad and Tehran were working on facilitating the repatriation of the bodies.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility.

The Baluch regions across Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan have faced an insurgency by Baluch nationalists seeking independence for more than two decades.

In Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan, the Baloch Liberation Army, designated a terrorist group by the United States in 2019, often targets security forces and civilians.

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned on Monday the killings and extended condolences to the Pakistani people and government.

“Iran will spare no effort in identifying the perpetrators and masterminds behind this atrocity and ensuring justice is duly served,” the ministry said in a statement.

Esmail Baqaei, the spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the killing “an act of terrorism” and "a criminal act which is fundamentally incompatible with all Islamic principles and legal and humanitarian norms”.

HalVash, an advocacy group for the Baluch people of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, reported that unknown gunmen opened fire on eight Pakistani citizens who ran a family auto repair business in the city. This couldn’t be independently verified.