The Kabul Tribune (KT) — Iranian media reported that the expulsion of Afghan migrants has left about 1,000 classrooms empty in the northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi, underscoring the scale of deportations that have accelerated this year.
Authorities say roughly 30,000 Afghan students and their
families have been forced to leave the province, long a hub for migrants. Their
departure has effectively vacated classrooms across the region, where more than
75,000 Afghan students had been enrolled in recent years. Officials say about
half of those students lacked legal residency documents.
Amirullah Shamaghdari, deputy governor for security and law
enforcement in Khorasan Razavi, said Saturday that 95% of the Afghan students
lived in the provincial capital, Mashhad. He said 35,000 students with
residency permits remain in local schools.
According to Shamaghdari, nearly 945,000 Afghans have
returned to Afghanistan through the Dogharun crossing since the start of the
year, including about 280,000 undocumented migrants from Khorasan Razavi and
Mashhad.
Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni has said that about
70% of Afghans left voluntarily. But Afghan migrants tell a different story.
Many deportees say they were expelled under duress, facing violence and
humiliation from Iranian authorities and police. Some say their money and
belongings were confiscated, while others accuse landlords of seizing their
homes and property after they were forced out.
Rights groups have long warned of harsh treatment of Afghan
refugees in Iran, who for decades have made up one of the largest migrant
populations in the country. Iranian officials say deportations will continue as
part of a nationwide plan targeting undocumented residents in 11 provinces.
Migrants are being sent back through the Dogharun, Milak and Mahiroud border
crossings.
