A 10-member probe team assigned by President Ashraf Ghani last week has already started its investigation into the death of Afghan nationals in border areas with Iran, but the Iranian side has yet to do the same, according to local officials, despite Iran's pledge earlier this week to do so.

Over 50 Afghan nationals were reported tortured and drowned by Iranian border guards earlier this month as the Afghans attempted to cross the border into Iran.

So far, 34 bodies have been found in the river that runs towards Turkmenistan, according to government officials. Iran has denied involvement in the incident.

The Afghan team is led by military investigator Abdul Hameed Tahmasi, who appeared at a press conference on Sunday, saying that they are waiting for the Iranian team to begin a joint investigation with them.

“Iran has not admitted that the incident has happened on its territory, so in order to prove this we need to negotiate with the Iranian side to show the available documents to them and convince them that it has happened on their territory,” he said.

Herat officials said that documents show that Afghan workers were forcibly thrown into the river where they drowned.

Some bodies of the Afghan workers are not recognizable due to torture, the Herat governor Sayed Wahid Qatali said.

“This incident happened in the border area between the two countries where some workers were forced to throw themselves into the river,” he added.

The incident was condemned by Afghan citizens, activists and a number of international watchdog organizations as well as United States officials. Herat activists called for a thorough investigation into the incident.

“The details of the investigation should be shared with the people of Afghanistan. Crimes have been committed against the people of Afghanistan and we want clarity in this respect,” said Sayed Ashraf Sadat, a civil society activist.

“We expect the probe team to assess the matter without any backdoor political deal and send its perpetrators to justice. The perpetrators should be put on trial based on Iranian and international law,” said Ghulam Farooq Rasib, a civil society activist.