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Afghans Face Tight Restrictions At Border Crossings With Pakistan, Iran

Fear of Taliban rule has caused tens of thousands of Afghans to flee the country. Many had been streaming into Pakistan via Afghanistan's southeast Kandahar Province.

But on September 2, Pakistan's interior minister announced that the border crossing at Chaman would be temporarily closed. RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal correspondent on the scene said some Afghans with IDs showing residence in Spin Boldak or Kandahar districts could still get through.

Prior to the announcement, Pakistan's Chaman crossing had been the only international border station allowing all Afghans to exit with only a state-issued ID.

At the Dowqarun border crossing between Afghanistan and Iran, RFE/RL's Radio Azadi reports that exit for Afghans was limited to only those with visas issued by the Afghan government before it fell on August 15 or those with connections to powerful Afghan leaders.

Here's a look at the situation at the Iranian and Pakistani border crossings in the previous week.
Afghan families gather to receive food distributed by an Islamabad-based Christian organization on the outskirts of Chaman, a border town in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan Province, on August 31.
1 Afghan families gather to receive food distributed by an Islamabad-based Christian organization on the outskirts of Chaman, a border town in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan Province, on August 31.
Afghan refugees rest in tents at a makeshift camp in Chaman on August 31.
2 Afghan refugees rest in tents at a makeshift camp in Chaman on August 31.
Afghans walk through a security barrier as they enter Pakistan at Chaman on August 27.
3 Afghans walk through a security barrier as they enter Pakistan at Chaman on August 27.
A Pakistani soldier checks documents of people arriving from Afghanistan at the Friendship Gate crossing point in Chaman on August 27.
4 A Pakistani soldier checks documents of people arriving from Afghanistan at the Friendship Gate crossing point in Chaman on August 27.
The Pakistani flag flies over the Friendship Gate crossing point in Chaman.
5 The Pakistani flag flies over the Friendship Gate crossing point in Chaman.
A family from Afghanistan arrives with their belongings in Chaman on August 27.
6 A family from Afghanistan arrives with their belongings in Chaman on August 27.
Afghan women stand outside their tents on the outskirts of Chaman on September 1.
7 Afghan women stand outside their tents on the outskirts of Chaman on September 1.
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Afghans enter Iran at the Dowqarun border crossing on August 29.
9 Afghans enter Iran at the Dowqarun border crossing on August 29.
An Afghan man sits at the Dowqarun border crossing on August 29.
10 An Afghan man sits at the Dowqarun border crossing on August 29.
Afghans walk at the Dowqarun border crossing on August 29.
11 Afghans walk at the Dowqarun border crossing on August 29.
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The Taliban's white and black flag flies above the Dowqarun border crossing with Iran on August 29. 
15 The Taliban's white and black flag flies above the Dowqarun border crossing with Iran on August 29. 
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