Kabul [Afghanistan], December 7 : Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Wahidi reiterated that Afghan citizens who are currently residing in Iran illegally should return to their country, according to TOLO News.
However, Wahifi did not mention a group or a country but said that the "enemy" wants to start anti-Afghan sentiments by creating a conflict between Afghans and Iranians.
He further highlighted that Iran's capital, Tehran, has also planned for immigrants with documents, according to TOLO News.
"When the Taliban came here, I told them that you should prepare the ground for them (Afghan immigrants) to return to their country. After all, everyone should return to their own lives. You should come up with a mechanism for their return, and they said to give us some time," Wahidi said.
Asifa Stanikzai, a women's rights activist, said, "Different countries and organisations should continue their humanitarian aid to the refugees who need help, regardless of the internal conditions of Afghanistan."
Meanwhile, some refugees said that they have faced harassment in different cities in Iran, adding that first Afghan immigrants are arrested and then deported, TOLO News reported.
Muslim, an Afghan refugee, said, "Immigrants in Iran are divided into two categories: undocumented refugees are forced into deportation and other immigrants face many economic challenges."
"In Iran, immigrants face unemployment and those who do not have legal documents issued by the Iranian government are deprived of citizenship rights, such as owning a house, going to school, and travelling," another Afghan refugee, Zabiullah Mahzon said.
Moreover, the Taliban asked neighbouring countries, including Iran, not to persecute Afghan immigrants, according to TOLO News.
The spokesman of the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, said, "The countries where the Afghan immigrants have lived should be given a chance, and the oppression of the immigrants should be stopped."
Reportedly, according to Iranian media, there are currently nearly 5 million Afghan citizens living in Iran.
Recently, Iran has prohibited the entry of Afghan nationals and their settlements in 16 provinces of Iran, according to Khaama Press, citing Iranian media.
The Director-General of Foreign Nationals and Immigrant Affairs in Iran's Kermanshah Province, Hamza Suleimani, reported that undocumented immigrants in these provinces will be detained and deported.
According to the report, entry, presence, and settlement in Iran's provinces of East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Ardabil, Zanjan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Ilam, Lorestan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Gilan, Mazandaran, Sistan and Baluchestan, Hormozgan, and Hamedan have been declared prohibited.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor