Iran beefs up security along Afghan border amid refugee flow
Yusef Jalali
Press TV, Iran-Afghan Border
On the other side of Milak crossing point in east of Iran, the Taliban have taken down the Afghan flag and raised their own white flag, a move that represents their control of Afghan borders.
This has given Iranians the jitters that Afghanistan's insecurity might spill into Iran.
Since the conflict erupted in Afghanistan, Iran's border police have deployed more forces to its eastern borders to beef up security.
Iran's border police say they constantly monitor the frontier and are ready to confront any hostile action along the border.
Over the past days, Iran's eastern border has been buzzing with Afghan refugees, who are escaping from an uncertain future under the Taliban, who took full control of the country after the central government collapsed.
The majority of the fleeing Afghans have climbed a 50 kilometer concrete wall topped with barbed wire Iran erected more than a decade ago to block drug smuggling.
Iran's border police say they will peacefully return refugees who have made irregular crossings.
Meanwhile Iran has set up makeshift camps alongside the border to temporarily accommodate the inbound refugees.
Turkey has been building a 240 kilometer wall along its frontier with Iran to push back the fleeing Afghans.
Last week, Pakistan has clashed with Afghan refugees at its border to hold them out.
While Iran has been acting as a shield that limits the flow of Afghan migrants toward Turkey and Europe, it believes the situation cannot be solved with force, and collective measures need to be taken by world leaders to avert a refugee crisis.
While on the other side of this bridge, the conflict has subsided, the influx of Afghan refugees still goes on.
Iran's border police say they will continue to shelter the refugees, hoping that Afghanistan will soon be a safe place for its people.
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