KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Pakistani police have detained Afghan women’s rights activist Zarlasht Barakzai and her young daughter in Islamabad and taken them to an unknown location, sources among Afghan refugees reported.
The sources said Ms. Barakzai was detained in the Faisal Town area of the capital at around 1:30 p.m. local time while travelling to a hospital to seek medical care for her sick daughter. Police stopped the pair and took them into custody, the sources added.
The activist and her daughter’s whereabouts remain unknown, and Pakistani authorities have yet to comment on their detention.
According to sources, Barakzai left Afghanistan about a year ago after receiving security threats and sought refuge in Pakistan. She had been living in Islamabad since then.
The detention comes amid an intensified crackdown by Pakistani authorities on Afghan refugees in recent weeks, including journalists and human rights activists. Earlier this week, Afghan journalist Samim Naimi was detained in Islamabad, and his current whereabouts also remain unknown.
According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), at least 20 Afghan journalists were detained and deported from Pakistan in 2025 as authorities stepped up enforcement following changes to visa and residency policies.
Thousands of Afghan activists, journalists, and former government officials fled Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power in 2021, citing fears of reprisals. While some have been resettled in Europe and the United States, many remain in neighboring Pakistan and Iran awaiting asylum or immigration decisions.
International human rights organizations have repeatedly urged Pakistan and Iran to halt deportations of Afghan refugees, warning that those returned to Afghanistan face heightened risks. They have also called on Western governments to accelerate resettlement programs, citing ongoing threats to journalists, women, minorities, former officials, and civil society activists.
