The Kabul Tribune (KT) — Iran has transferred 164 Afghan
prisoners to Taliban authorities in Afghanistan under a bilateral agreement
that allows convicted inmates to serve their sentences in their home country,
Iranian media reported Thursday.
The prisoners were handed over through the Milak border
crossing as part of the 11th phase of a prisoner transfer arrangement between
Iran and Afghanistan’s Taliban administration, according to Iran’s Fars News
Agency, which cited Alireza Sarhadi, a prosecutor in Hirmand district of
southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province.
Sarhadi said the inmates had been serving sentences in
prisons across several Iranian provinces, including Sistan and Baluchestan,
Hormozgan, Fars, Kerman, Bushehr and Khuzestan.
He said the transfer was coordinated by judicial, security
and administrative authorities on both sides and was intended to allow the
prisoners to complete their sentences in Afghanistan.
Iranian authorities did not disclose the prisoners’ offenses
or provide details about the charges against them.
Thousands of Afghan nationals are currently held in Iranian
prisons for a range of offenses, according to Iranian officials. Those offenses
include drug-related crimes, illegal entry and residency violations, as well as
other criminal convictions.
The transfer reflects ongoing cooperation between Iran and
the Taliban administration on judicial and border-related matters since the
Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
