Taliban Appoints Turkmen Cleric As Ambassador To Türkiye

Ahmadullah Muttaqi, head of the Taliban’s Directorate of Information and Culture in Herat, said that around 600 passenger buses transported the migrants to the Islam Qala border crossing. Posting on the social media platform X, he noted that the return of Afghan migrants from Iran would continue in the coming days, with hundreds more buses expected to arrive at the border.

Muttaqi described Wednesday’s influx as unusually large, even as the number of returnees had been rising in recent weeks.

Taliban authorities said they had distributed water and food to returnees at the border and were working overnight to transfer them to their respective provinces.

The surge in returns follows Iran’s reported intensification of pressure on Afghan migrants, particularly after its military confrontation with Israel. Earlier this week, the governor of Tehran announced that increased security checkpoints had led to a three- to fourfold rise in the arrest and deportation of undocumented migrants.

Iran hosts one of the world’s largest populations of Afghan refugees, many of whom fled decades of conflict and instability. Rights groups have criticised Iran’s recent mass deportations, citing concerns over the treatment of returnees under Taliban rule.

Ahmadullah Muttaqi, the Taliban’s Director of Information and Culture in Herat, said that prior to the outbreak of hostilities, approximately 3,000 Afghan nationals were being forcibly deported each day via the Islam Qala border crossing. That figure has now surged to around 10,000 per day since the conflict ended, he said.

Muttaqi noted that, in addition to those forcibly removed, another 1,000 people had been voluntarily returning daily before the war. In the days following the ceasefire, he claimed, voluntary returns have increased to about 4,000 daily.

“Combined, we are now seeing roughly 13,000 people returning from Iran each day, and this could soon rise to between 15,000 and 20,000,” Muttaqi said during a public event.

Despite these claims, Iran’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Alireza Bikdeli, said on Monday that Tehran is not applying “pressure, unjust or illegal actions” against Afghan nationals. He stated that the plan to regulate and repatriate undocumented Afghan migrants began a year ago in consultation with Taliban officials and continues as scheduled.

Reports of detentions of Afghan migrants in Iran during the Iran-Israel conflict have added to concerns over their treatment. Rights groups and Afghan officials have previously criticised Iran’s handling of Afghan refugees, particularly in the wake of increased regional instability.

According to a report published by The Nation on Wednesday, 25 June, Kamal made the announcement during a high-level meeting convened to review ongoing challenges related to the polio virus. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s “strong political and operational commitment” to eliminating polio, calling the effort not just a public health initiative but “a national mission.”

Kamal added that vaccination campaigns remain among the government’s top health priorities and noted that targeted efforts are under way, particularly in southern areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which remain vulnerable to outbreaks.

He praised Afghanistan’s recent progress in tackling polio, stating that it may reach eradication ahead of Pakistan.

According to official figures, at least 11 new polio cases have been recorded in Pakistan and two in Afghanistan since the beginning of 2025. Last year, Pakistan reported 74 cases, while Afghanistan recorded 25.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where wild poliovirus remains endemic.

According to a statement cited by Sputnik Tajikistan, the confrontation occurred after the suspects ignored orders to surrender and opened fire on Tajik security forces. One individual was killed, while the other three reportedly fled back across the border into Afghan territory.

Authorities said the incident took place during a counter-narcotics operation targeting cross-border trafficking networks. Approximately 72 kilograms of narcotics were confiscated, along with an AK-47 rifle and a quantity of ammunition.

The committee noted that investigations are ongoing and warned that organised criminal groups remain active in the border areas between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, using remote terrain to smuggle drugs and weapons.

Tajikistan has long been a key transit route in the regional drug trade, and its security forces frequently report violent encounters with traffickers along the Afghan border.

Arafat Jamal, head of the UNHCR office in Kabul, said on Tuesday that the agency has deployed monitoring teams to Afghanistan’s border crossings and is closely observing the situation.

Speaking just hours before a ceasefire was announced, Jamal noted that while large-scale migration has not yet occurred, the UNHCR is prepared to respond if the flow of Iranians into Afghanistan increases. “If the trend continues, we are ready to support those arriving, in line with our humanitarian mandate,” he said.

Jamal reported that so far, only a few confirmed cases have been recorded, including a small number of Iranian nationals and approximately 30 families with dual Iranian-Afghan citizenship.

He stressed that the current movement does not yet represent a significant migration wave but that the agency remains alert to any developments.

The recent conflict between Iran and Israel, which involved reciprocal missile strikes and air raids, has prompted some residents, particularly from major urban areas in Iran, to flee the country in search of safety.