May 28, 2022
2 mins read

People-smuggling thrives on bribes to Taliban

Despite an official ban, the smuggling of undocumented migrants to neighbouring Iran and Pakistan continues to rise with the help of Taliban border guards and officials willing to look the other way.

The Taliban has tried to stem the flow of Afghans attempting to escape economic ruin and persecution. But, despite an official ban, the smuggling of undocumented migrants to neighbouring Iran and Pakistan continues to rise with the help of Taliban border guards and officials willing to look the other way, RFE/RL reported.

As Afghanistan’s economy collapses, its citizens continue to leave the country en masse in a trend that began to rise with the announced withdrawal of foreign forces in the spring of 2021 and which spiked after the Taliban seized power in August.

Iran, a major destination country, has clamped down by beefing up security along its 900 km border with Afghanistan and deporting tens of thousands of Afghans, RFE/RL reported.

Taliban authorities in the southwestern province of Nimroz, which abuts Afghanistan’s borders with Iran and Pakistan and serves as a major migration hub, have banned human smuggling in an effort to stem the outflow.

But smugglers say that the hurdles are nothing that cannot be overcome by bribing Taliban guards and officials willing to look the other way to keep business booming, RFE/RL reported.

The Taliban, which has urged Afghans not to leave the country, has tried to cut off migration routes and authorities in Nimroz have issued bans against the smuggling of people to Iran.

Mawlawi Sardar Mohammad Ayubi, the Taliban’s police chief in Nimroz, recently announced a local ban on illegal immigration in an audiotape released by the province’s Information and Culture Department.

From April 9 to May 6, nearly 230,000 Afghans flowed out of the country, mostly bound for neighboring Iran and Pakistan, according to the latest statistics from the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).

In the past year, more than 1.6 million Afghans crossed into Iran, according to the IOM, the vast majority of them undocumented migrants who seek work there or who intend to use Iran as a jumping-off point to migrate to Turkey and Europe.

Iran, which is mired in its own economic crisis amid skyrocketing inflation and rising food prices, has expressed alarm at the number of undocumented Afghans on its soil, putting the number at some 5 million people, RFE/RL reported.

ALSO READ: Pakistan’s support for Taliban backfires

Previous Story

Is Pak military behind surprise end to Imran’s march?

Next Story

Palestinian teen killed in West Bank clashes

Latest from -Top News

India Eyes Global No. 3 Spot, Says Modi

The Prime Minister stated that people of India have resolved to make India a Developed Nation by 2047, when “we celebrate 100 years of Independence”….reports Asian Lite News Prime Minister Narendra Modi

The UK’s Net Zero Journey

Achieving net zero is not just a technological but also a political and cultural undertaking, writes Hasil Farooque In 2019, the United Kingdom officially committed itself to eradicate all greenhouse gas emissions

Bangladesh’s Dark Side Unveiled in Geneva

Organised by diaspora activists, the exhibit exposed rising rights abuses in Bangladesh post-Hasina…reports Asian Lite News In a bid to spotlight the deteriorating human rights situation and rising persecution of minorities in

India Outpaces Peers in Morgan Stanley Outlook

Global investment firm reaffirms India’s status as top-performing economy in latest growth outlook…reports Asian Lite News India is set to retain its position as the fastest-growing economy among nations tracked by Morgan
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Taliban top brass assassinated in Afghanistan

The Taliban official also said that while the assassination’s perpetrators

TAPI clears hurdles after Putin aide’s Kabul visit

Russia hints headway in TAPI gas pipeline project after Putin