Residents of Mehrobod settlement in the Jabbor-Rasoulov district of the Sughd province, who have lived next to Afghan refugees for several years, say that on April 4, “officials from some agencies gathered all Afghan citizens and took them away somewhere.”
In the Sughd province, Afghan refugees reside in the Dehmoy jamoat (rural community) of the Jabbor-Rasoulov district. Their number is estimated to be between 200-250 people.
Recently, Afghan media and social networks published information alleging that dozens of refugees from that country residing in the Jabbor-Rasoulov district were expelled from it. This happened after the detention of an Afghan citizen on charges of murdering a woman in Khujand, the capital of the Sughd province. According to the Interior Ministry of Tajikistan, the murder occurred on April 30.
A journalist from Asia-Plus went to the Dehmoy jamoat on May 5 and spoke with several of its residents. He could not find a single Afghan refugee in this jamoat.
The residents he spoke to were citizens of Tajikistan. They reported that on May 4, unknown persons took all the Afghan refugees away in several vehicles. However, none of them could say exactly who these “unknown persons” were or where the Afghan refugees were taken.
Roza Hasanova, a resident of the Dehmoy jamoat, said she had lived next door to an Afghan man for six years, and they worked together at an auto repair shop.
“We communicated with each other. They gathered everyone and took them away. We have seen nothing bad from our Afghan neighbors and pray that wherever they are, they are well,” Hasanova said.
Another resident of Mehrobod settlement in this jamoat, who introduced herself as Zaynoura (without giving a surname), said in a phone conversation: “Mahmoud (an Afghan refugee – Ed.) worked in the district’s culture department, but on the afternoon of May 4, he left with his sick wife and family.”
“Yesterday, they were all loaded into 15-17 trucks and taken away. Where were they taken? Why were they taken? We do not know,” Zaynoura told Asia-Plus’s reporter on May 5.
Attempts by Asia-Plus’s journalists to obtain comments on this incident from law enforcement and local authorities were unsuccessful. No one in these agencies could say exactly where the Afghan refugees from the Dehmoy jamoat were taken.
The Interior Ministry’s press service stated that they did not detain Afghan migrants but noted that in all countries, if migrants violate domestic laws, they are subject to punishment. The press service of the Interior Ministry’s office in the Sughd province also stated that “the deportation of foreign citizens is not their business” and added that they know nothing about the fate of Afghan refugees residing in the Dehmoy jamoat.
Meanwhile, in the report on the detention of an Afghan refugee published by the Interior Ministry, it is indicated that “the bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan demand that Afghan citizens respect the legislation, customs, and traditions of the country, strictly abide by them and legalize their stay.”
In the administration of the Jabbor-Rasoulov district, one person, who did not give his name, said that “this issue is not resolved by the district administration, it is a matter for other authorities, better to ask their opinion.”
Thus, it is unknown where the Afghan refugees who resided in the Dehmoy jamoat have gone and whether their “disappearance” is related to the detention of a citizen of that country on suspicion of murdering a woman in Khujand.
Recall that in the Sughd province, the Jabbor-Rasoulov district is the only district where Afghan refugees work and live. About 20 years ago, there were only 4-5 families of Afghan refugees in this district. According to data provided in January of this year by the deputy chairperson of the Jabbor-Rasoulov district, Ms. Zumrat Mutallibzoda, at a press conference, more than 200 Afghan migrants were residing in this district at that time. Mutallibzoda then said that the goal of these migrants is to move to a third country, and they live here temporarily.
It should be noted that in previous years, there were also several cases of the deportation of Afghans from Tajikistan. International organizations criticized the Tajik authorities for these expulsions, but official Dushanbe stated that they deport only those who are illegally residing in the country.
