by Rohullah Sangar on TOLOnews, Dec 2, 2022 at 9:03 PM
Khalil Rahman Haqqani, the acting minister for refugees and repatriation, claims that Iran is using former Afghan soldiers as a military force.
Haqqani said, during his visit to Parwan, that these soldiers have also been sent to fight in Syria and Iraq in addition to the war in Ukraine.
“I have shared this issue with them (Iranian authorities), Afghans have previously been used in the fighting in Iraq and Syria, and it may have occurred in the war in Ukraine as well,” Haqqani said.
Meanwhile, some military analysts said that Iran makes use of the former Afghan soldiers who have found refuge there as leverage.
“They were forced to contact other groups to provide for their family’s costs, not only in Iraq and Syria but also in the Ukraine war, where they were also recruited by the Russians,” said Sarwar Niazi, a former soldier.
“The host nations, including Iran, should not use Afghan immigration as a military force,” said military expert Sadiq Shinwari.
However, the Iranian embassy in Kabul denied the claim that Iran is sending former Afghan soldiers to fight in the war in Ukraine.
“There may be rumors regarding the use of forces in the war in Ukraine, which the Islamic Republic denies,” said Sayed Abass Badri, media director of the Iranian embassy in Kabul.
About a month ago, Foreign Policy Magazine reported that Iran had sent a number of former Afghan soldiers to the war in Ukraine.
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-181011
