KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – International press freedom and human rights groups have urged Pakistan to halt the detention and deportation of Afghan journalists and media workers, warning that forced returns could expose them to serious risk of retaliation under Taliban rule.
In an open letter to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the organizations, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), expressed concern over a recent surge in arrests and forced removals of Afghan journalists living in Pakistan.
The signatories noted that many Afghan journalists and media workers fled to Pakistan after facing threats, violence, persecution, and repression for their professional work in Afghanistan. Forced return, they warned, could expose them to retaliatory detention, arbitrary arrest, physical violence or even death.
“We urge the government to immediately halt deportations of journalists and media workers at risk and uphold the principle of non-refoulement for individuals facing credible threats due to their journalistic work,” the organizations said in the letter.
They also raised concerns about what they described as a sustained deterioration of media freedom in Pakistan, citing an increase in violence, intimidation, and detention of journalists. The groups called on the government to comply with its obligations under international law to protect freedom of expression and ensure the safety of journalists.
Pakistan has intensified its campaign against undocumented Afghan refugees amid rising border tensions with the Taliban administration. Authorities have expanded security operations, resulting in widespread detentions and deportations of thousands of Afghans in recent months, including journalists, civil society activists, and women.
According to RSF, at least 20 of about 200 Afghan journalists currently living in Pakistan while awaiting resettlement to third countries were forcibly deported to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan in 2025.
Human rights and press freedom advocates have repeatedly called for suspension of deportations, stressing that Afghanistan remains unsafe for journalists, women, minorities, former government employees, and civil society activists.
Refugee advocates say that without stronger international intervention and expanded resettlement programs, thousands more Afghans could face forced return to conditions threatening their safety and basic rights.
