KABUL: Afghanistan said on Saturday that it had opened an investigation into the deaths of Afghan migrants who survivors said were forced by Iranian authorities to jump into the Harirud River at gunpoint last week. The incident has sparked anger in Kabul.
“The initial phase of the investigation involves talking to provincial officials, families of the victims, and survivors in western Herat,” Javid Faisal, spokesman for the office of President Ashraf Ghani’s National Security Council (NSC), told Arab News on Saturday.
Faisal added that after the first phase of the probe, the team — tasked and dispatched by Ghani from Kabul — would speak to Iranian officials as well.
“They have had meetings [with local officials and survivors], but there are no clear findings yet,” he said.
The Harirud River in the Herat province in Afghanistan, along the border with Iran, is where the alleged incident took place on May 1. Nearly 50 migrants were thrown into the river after being severely beaten by Iranian officials, survivors Azizullah and Hamidullah told Arab News on Thursday.
They added that border forces detained the group after they entered Iranian soil illegally.
Confirming the reports, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed Haneef Atmar said on Wednesday that he had a “tense interaction” with Iranian officials following the incident.
Later in the day, however, his ministry said that the Iranian government had agreed to a joint probe into the incident.
Atmar’s office and his spokesman did not respond to an email or calls by Arab News on Saturday to discuss the details of the interaction.
“What Iranian Border Guards did to innocent Afghans goes against all norms & human rights standards,” Abdul Moqim Abdulrahimzai, a senior official of the NSC tweeted on Saturday.
“We will never do this to any Iranian citizen. But we will also never forget!” he added.
Iran has denied the reports.
“We extend our condolences to their families, but we should remember that some are seeking to damage the (Kabul-Tehran) relations,” Sayed Abbas Musavi, a spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was quoted as saying by Afghan TOLOnews.
“Dismissing the murderous abuse of dozens of Afghan migrants in the face of increasing evidence is becoming more untenable,” Ahmad Shuja, another official of the NSC, tweeted on Friday.
