Amnesty International called for an immediate and independent investigation into reports that Iranian border forces killed Afghan migrants near the Iran-Pakistan border.
In a statement on Thursday, Amnesty described the alleged shooting by Iran’s security forces as “horrifying” and highlighted concerns about the reported denial of adequate healthcare for the injured in both Iran and Pakistan.
“A report by Haalvsh, a Baluchi human rights organization, that on October 13, Iran’s security forces indiscriminately shot at scores of Afghan individuals is alarming,” Amnesty International said. “This comes over two years since we first documented Iran’s use of unlawful force against Afghans fleeing to Iran after the Taliban’s August 2021 takeover, resulting in unlawful killings and serious injuries.”
Amnesty called for a “prompt, transparent, independent, and effective investigation into the use of unlawful lethal force, which violated the right to life of Afghans, and for suspected perpetrators to be held accountable through fair proceedings.”
In response, the Taliban announced the formation of a high-level committee on Thursday to investigate the reported deaths. According to the Taliban, the committee will be led by Mohammad Ibrahim Sadr, the Deputy Minister for Security at the Ministry of Interior, and will include representatives from the Taliban-run ministries of defense, foreign affairs, borders, and intelligence.
The incident has stirred significant domestic and international concern. Iran’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, denied reports that Iranian border guards had killed dozens of Afghan migrants attempting to cross into Iran.
Haalvsh, which first reported the incident along with video footage, claimed that dozens of Afghan migrants were killed in the shooting, although the exact number of casualties remains unconfirmed. The Taliban have stated they will take further action once more details are clarified.
