In 1979, the Soviet Union’s invasion of the country left thousands of civilians dead alongside Mujahideen fighters, Afghan troops and Soviet Soldiers.
Even post the withdrawal of the Soviet troops, civil war continued to rage in the Central Asian country. Today, the country is facing a interplay of NATO, Taliban and the International politics to find solutions to the problems.
As the political disputes and conflicts aroused in Afghanistan, Iran was one of the first few countries to open its borders to Afghan refugees. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates there to be some 3.5 million documented and undocumented Afghan refugees and migrants living in Iran. Unfortunately, the situation of refugees has seen a worsening state as Iran’s economy declined and the Afghans struggled to find work.
Iran is also allegedly deporting Afghans as a result of which they continue to be in a loop of threat of human rights abuse and even physical violence in both Iran and Afghanistan. News journalists in the recent times have reported on mistreatment of Afghan refugees in the detention camps in Iran which has caused concern among the Afghan authorities.
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