Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says that at least 20 Afghan journalists living in Pakistan were forcibly returned to Afghanistan in 2025, despite having fled the country due to threats from the Taliban.
The organization has called on Pakistani authorities to halt the deportations and urged the international community to open resettlement pathways for Afghan media workers.
According to RSF, nearly 200 Afghan journalists in Pakistan have been waiting for visas to third countries. However, resettlement processes in Western nations have been either stalled or slowed significantly in recent months.
The group warns that these journalists now face the risk of forced return to Afghanistan, where they remain highly vulnerable to Taliban reprisals.
RSF reports that in the past six months, it has received an increasing number of distress calls from Afghan journalists in exile who were arbitrarily detained by Pakistani police, transferred to holding facilities, and in some cases deported within hours.
At least 20 journalists supported by RSF have been forcibly sent back to Afghanistan, the organization said.
Célia Mercier, who leads RSF’s South Asia desk, said the situation facing Afghan journalists in Pakistan has become extremely difficult. She noted that these journalists are confronted with daily arbitrary arrests and constant threats of deportation, adding that returning them to Afghanistan would breach the fundamental international law principle of non-refoulement.
Since, the Taliban’s return to power, roughly half of Afghanistan’s media outlets have shut down or relocated abroad. The group has imposed sweeping restrictions on press freedom and repeatedly detained journalists.
The Taliban recently sentenced Hamid Farhadi, a reporter for Etilaat Roz, to two years in prison. He is currently serving his sentence.
