Afghanistan Peace CampaignSome of the migrants expelled from Iran said they would never leave the country if job opportunities were available in Afghanistan.
Abdullah Riyaz, the head of Migrants and Returnees in Nimroz, said: “In the past two months, 110,000 to 120,000 Afghans have returned from Iran, most of them forcibly. At the border, partner institutions and the Islamic Emirate assist some of them.”
Some of the migrants expelled from Iran said they would never leave the country if job opportunities were available in Afghanistan.
They complained about the mistreatment of Afghan migrants by Iranian security forces.
Aref Khan, who returned from Iran, said: “Iranian security forces everywhere take money from us and beat us. If companies in our country become active and job opportunities are provided for all of us, why should we go to Iran and endure all this oppression and abuse?”
Ramin, another deportee, said, “We went there for a bite of bread. If job opportunities in Afghanistan were suitable, we would never go. We went to Iran out of necessity, and whenever the security forces on the road catch any of us, they beat us.”
However, Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, said that special provisions have been made for migrant workers forcibly expelled from neighboring countries with large development projects in the country.
The spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate said: “The Islamic Emirate has always tried to reduce the level of unemployment, especially for those returning from Iran. We want migrants coming from outside of Afghanistan to be involved in projects such as mining extraction and other large projects in the country. The Islamic Emirate is aware of these issues.”
Despite the increase in the mass expulsion of Afghan migrants from Iran in recent months, it is said that due to poverty and unemployment, hundreds of citizens still enter Iranian territory illegally every day.