KABUL: Afghanistan has vowed to investigate reports that some Afghan migrants died having been tortured by Iranian border guards and forced into a river that flows between the two countries after attempting to cross the border to find work in Iran. Abdul Ghani Noori, chief of Gulran district in Herat province — where most of the victims came from — told Arab News on Friday that at least 18 people died in the incident, which took place May 1. At least six people are still missing, he added. “Based on the comments of the survivors — which we can regard as part of our initial investigation — Iranian border guards forced these people at gunpoint to cross the river,” Noori said. The Afghan government announced on May 3 that it would investigate the case, but a spokesman for Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), Zabihullah Farhang, said on Friday it was unclear when the official probe — set to involve Iranian officials as well — would begin. He confirmed that the witnesses interviewed by AIHRC said Iranian border guards had forced them into the river at gunpoint. “We will continue our investigation. This is a flagrant violation of human rights and the government of Iran has committed itself to observing the international charter of human rights, so should act on the basis of it,” he told Arab News. Abdul Sattar Hussieni, a lawmaker from Farah province, told Arab News that he had been selected as a member of the investigation team. He did not know when the investigation would start, but he suggested that Afghanistan should “cease all diplomatic ties” with Iran, saying that it had “played the role of spoiler” in Afghanistan “for decades” and was “behind (the country’s) instability.” Ahead of the investigation, Arab News has spoken to some of those who survived the ordeal and to the families of some who did not. “They beat us and locked us in a room with 50 other people. They did not even let us use the toilet,” said Azizullah, a 21-year-old from the village of Khogyani in the Gulran district, who was attempting to cross the border with four companions to seek work in Iran. A trafficker took them to the frontier, where dozens of other men were also waiting to be smuggled across under cover of darkness. Some, like Azizullah’s childhood friend, Abdul Bari, already had work in Iran, but had not been able to return because Afghanistan has suspended cross-border movement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As soon as they had crossed the border, Azizullah said, they were arrested by patrolling guards. This is a flagrant violation of human rights and the government of Iran has committed itself to observing the international charter of human rights, so should act on the basis of it. Zabihullah Farhang, Spokesman for Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission “The next day, they took us and made us cut grass. Then they brought us back to the room, snapping at us, asking why we had come to Iran,” Azizullah told Arab News. “I said we had escaped hunger and poverty and one of the soldiers said, ‘We will show you what hunger is.’” Hours later, he said, they were herded into a vehicle and driven to the Harirud River. “We sighed with relief, thinking we would return home safely after the beating, which was unbearable,” said another villager, Hamidullah. “But the guards ordered us to cross the river and go home. We told them the river was deep and we couldn’t do it. Then they said, ‘Either you go, or we will throw you.’” They started to walk, but when the muddy water reached the level of their chins, they turned back. It was then that one of the Iranian guards opened fire, Azizullah claimed. “We saw Bari drowning before our eyes as he continued to walk and was caught by a big wave. Me and Hamidullah managed to cross because we can swim a little,” he said. When they reached the shore they found 10 corpses, including Bari’s. Hamidullah said he walked for over an hour to the nearest village to find help and a car to transport the dead. Bari was his family’s sole breadwinner, his uncle, Mohammad Qasim, told Arab News. “The whole village is in shock,” he said. “Bari’s mother can hardly speak, she screams and cries all the time.” “Why the Iranians so mercilessly killed these people, why?” Bibi Hora, Bari’s mother, told Arab News and hung up the phone. Iran denies that any of its troops were involved and Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbass Musavi reportedly told local media that there would be a formal investigation of the incident.