HERAT (TOLOnews): Local officials of Herat said that the Iranian government has started the process of deporting those Afghan immigrants who have passports and visas.
According to them, the Iranian police tore the passports and visas of some Afghan immigrants and violently expelled them from this country.
Abdullah Qayoumi, the head of immigration affairs at Islam Qala port in Herat, said that a large number of legal immigrants deported from Iran enter the country through this port every day.
“They deport our immigrants who have legal documents and go there to find employment. Passports are not valid for them. They are saying in the media that we are deporting those immigrants who do not have passports and legal documents, while this is not true,” Qayoumi said.
Meanwhile, some Afghans deported from Iran said that even though they have Iranian visas, the police arrested them and deported them.
“We told them that we have passports, they said that here your passport does not work. They tore our passports,” Khairullah, Afghan immigrant deported from Iran told TOLOnews.
“When we told them that we have valid documents, the soldiers told us to shut your mouth,” Mohammad Naser, another Afghan immigrant deported from Iran told TOLOnews. Human rights advocates believe that Iran violates international rules and norms when it expels foreigners who have valid visas.
“Afghan immigrants have always been treated politically, and Iran does not care who is legal and who is not. Iran has always pursued its own political priorities,” said Sayed Ashraf, a human rights activist.
According to local officials in Herat, the process of expelling Afghan immigrants from Iran has doubled over the past month.
Based on the figures of Herat refugee department, up to 4,000 Afghans deported from Iran entered the country through Islam Qala port.
