Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani has tasked a 10-member team to probe reports of the drowning of dozens of Afghan migrants by Iranian border security forces earlier this week.
Mohammad Hamid Tahmasbi will lead the probe team, said Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman to Afghan president Ashraf Ghani.
Over 50 Afghan migrants attempting to cross the border with Iran were “tortured and drowned” by Iranian guards, according to eyewitnesses. An Afghan official on Wednesday said that so far 16 of the Afghan nationals have been rescued, 18 to 20 are missing, and 16 bodies have been found.
The reports sparked strong condemnation in Afghanistan and abroad.
On Thursday, The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that he is “appalled” by reports that say Afghan migrants were “abused, tortured and drowned” by Iranian border guards. His comments come a day after the Afghan government announced that a joint Afghanistan-Iran team would probe the incident.
Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Haneef Atmar, on Wednesday, said he had a “tense interaction” with Iranians over this matter. But later in the day, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said the Iranian government had agreed to a joint probe into the incident.
The Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry rejected Pompeo’s remarks, saying some people are trying to disrupt Kabul-Tehran ties by making conspiracies.
“We extend our condolences to their families but we should remember that some are seeking to damage the (Kabul-Tehran) relations and the current situation in the region or between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,” said Sayed Abbas Musavi, a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Affairs Ministry.
