IRAN: STRICTER RULES FOR AFGHAN REFUGEES

adnkronos international ^ | May-23-05 17:10 | Smg

[gandalftb]

Afghans will not be allowed to settle in certain Iranian provinces, while the police will be allowed to arrest any Afghan who tries to stay in these areas, said Ahmad Hosseini, who is with the country's bureau of aliens and foreign immigrants affairs (BAFIA). He also said that Afghans in Iran will be subject to local taxation after 6 July.

Afghans will not be allowed to settle in parts of Sistan Baluchistan, as well as southern Khorasan.

This is in addition to current restrictions that forbid Afghans settling in five other eastern provinces of Azerbaijan, Kordestan, Kermanshah, Ilam and Khuzestan.

Hosseini said that the police will also be permitted to arrest and hold any Afghan attempting to settle in these provinces. He stated that the reason for the latest crackdown on Afghans was regional security.

In the past five months, the Iranian authorities have launched a campaign to deport illegal Afghan migrant workers and introducing heavy fines for Iranians who employ them. The number of illegal Afghan immigrants is not known but the government estimates between 200,000 to 300,000.

[gandalftb]

This backs up other recent posts about Iran's fear of the growing militancy in Baluchistan and the uncontrolled narcotrafficking that is addicting large parts of Persian Iran. I believe that bin Laden, Zarqawi, and Hekmatyrar Gulbuddin are all there setting up an Islamic caliphate.

Iran's got a tiger by the tail and lack the military prowess to do anything about it. Baluchistan is closed to outsiders including our media so little attention is paid to this emerging threat.

Collecting taxes from the Baluchis, that's a laugher.

[DuncanWaring]

Maybe the Afghans are just doing jobs Iranians won't do.

[JAWs]

Sounds like the Pale of Settlement under the Czars.

[xJones]

This backs up other recent posts about Iran's fear of the growing militancy in Baluchistan and the uncontrolled narcotrafficking that is addicting large parts of Persian Iran. I believe that bin Laden, Zarqawi, and Hekmatyrar Gulbuddin are all there setting up an Islamic caliphate.

If what we've read is true, the drug trafficking among young Iranians is really bad, and the stuff comes in from Afghanistan.

But as far as setting up a new Caliphate, that seems rather doubtful to say the least. Osama and Zarqawi have price-tags on their heads, and they'd be up against the some of the most ruthless governments on the planet who wouldn't want to relinquish power to them. And Osama is a fundy Wahhabi, and he's going to establish a caliphate in Shiite Iran?

[Brilliant]

Osama is in Iran.

[gandalftb]

Baluchis are Sunni muslims, very clannish and don't mix with others. This SE part of Iran especially outside of the cities is Baluchi. Khalid Sheik Muhammed was Baluchi and organized the support for al Qaeda there.

I think that if bin Laden sets up his dream of a caliphate with himself as the Mahdi, even for a little while, he establishes himself in Islam's history of glorifying martyrs. Bin Laden well knows it's his only shot to keep the movement alive after he's dead.

[xJones]

Thank you, you have very good knowledge and insight. Your posts are very interesting.

It's certainly possible that Osama could declare himself the Mahdi in his own little caliphate, it's been done before and the Muslim street people do seem to make idols out of neurotics. We'll see....

[joemo]

Maybe the Afghans are just doing jobs Iranians won't do.

well you are actually right. lots of afghanis work on construction sites, of which there are many. tehran is massive and gets more massive at a pretty constant rate. the afghanis build little houses on the sites then live there while they work. while theres quite a bit of high-rise, theres also a lot of areas where nothing is below 2 stories and several story buildings are common. its dangerous work.