Tajikistan handed over Afghan refugees to the Taliban

The authorities of Tajikistan deported an Afghan family from the country and handed them over to the Taliban, who had sought asylum in the country in early November, just a week after entering Tajikistan.

Photo: Internet

A journalist from Afghanistan claims that Tajik authorities did not accept her and 13 members of her family when they arrived in Tajikistan as refugees and deported them.

The woman says that after her family was handed over to the Taliban border guards, they arrested her uncle, and there has been no news of him for two weeks.

“When we were handed over to the Taliban, the Tajik border guards were crying, but they said that if they didn’t do it, they would be sent to prison.”

Tajik authorities initially stated that they could accept up to 100,000 Afghan refugees. However, when a large number of Afghan refugees gathered at the border out of fear of the Taliban, they were denied entry into the country, and some were even deported back to Afghanistan.

Earlier, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed concern that Dushanbe was deporting Afghan asylum seekers from Tajikistan. The statement noted that on November 11, 11 men, women, and children were forcibly returned to Afghanistan. The individuals were sent back to their homeland before their asylum and protection requests were considered.

Tajik authorities claim that the reasons for denying asylum to Afghan refugees are economic difficulties and security concerns.