PARIS: The UN rapporteur for Afghanistan called on Monday for investigations into the reported killings in Iran of two former Afghan security officials, ousted after the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

“Deeply concerned about recent assassinations in Iran of former members of security forces,” including General Ikramuddin Saree, a former senior police official, and Commander Mohammad Amin Almas, rapporteur Richard Bennett posted on social media platform X.

“These crimes should be independently investigated and perpetrators identified and brought to justice,” he said.

Iranian authorities have not confirmed their deaths following a series of media reports.

However, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei acknowledged during a weekly news briefing on Monday that “two Afghan refugees were targeted in an armed attack”.

“Investigations are ongoing, and you can be assured that under no circumstances will we allow the security of our society or the safety of those living within it to be compromised,” he said.

The Afghan Freedom Front, which claims to represent former security force members, many of whom fled the country upon the Taliban’s return, alleged that the two men were killed by “operatives affiliated” with the Taliban authorities.

It said in a post on X that the Taliban government views former members of the Afghan National Security Forces “as a potential threat to its illegitimate and unlawful rule”.

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2025