KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A report published on 6 March 2026 by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) indicates that a growing number of Afghan journalists who fled their country to seek safety in Pakistan are now being caught in a widening crackdown on refugees, as tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan intensify.
The situation has raised alarm among press freedom advocates, particularly after Reporters Without Borders (RSF) warned that detained journalists risk severe retaliation if they are deported back to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
The escalation of clashes between the two countries, described by Islamabad as an “open war” on February 27, has reportedly been used as justification for a new wave of repression targeting Afghan refugees, including exiled journalists. According to RSF, several Afghan reporters have been arrested across Pakistan in recent days as security operations against refugees intensified.
Many of the detained journalists have been transferred to detention centers. RSF says these arrests add to roughly 20 similar cases it has documented since the beginning of 2026. The organization also reports that at least six Afghan journalists it supports have been forcibly returned to Afghanistan in the past 15 days, bringing the total number of deported journalists since January to nine.
Several journalists have described their fear and uncertainty while living in Pakistan. One reporter told RSF:
“Since February 27, the police have been conducting repeated checks and operations against Afghans in our area,” one of them explained. “Although my visa is still valid, the police came to our home three times. Today, the 28th, they even took me to the police station and detained me for about an hour before releasing me.”
Another journalist described how the worsening security climate has effectively confined many refugees to their homes.
“For several weeks now, my family and I have not left our home for fear of being detained by the Pakistani police. We are effectively prisoners in our own home. We currently have no food or basic necessities.”
Some reporters also allege that they have been subjected to extortion by security forces during detention.
“After spending a full day in a Pakistani police detention centre, I was forced to pay 115,000 PKR [about 400 USD] to avoid deportation and secure my release,” said one of the journalists interviewed by RSF. “The next day, my landlord asked me to leave the premises.”
Most of these journalists fled Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, citing threats, intimidation and restrictions against independent media. Many hoped Pakistan would serve as a temporary refuge while they awaited resettlement to a third country. However, visa and relocation programs to Europe and North America have slowed significantly, leaving hundreds of Afghan media workers in prolonged uncertainty.
RSF has urged the Pakistani authorities to immediately halt arrests and deportations of Afghan journalists. Célia Mercier, head of RSF’s South Asia desk, warned that the current security crisis should not be used to justify actions that could put journalists’ lives at risk.
“The current explosive situation must not be used as a pretext for arbitrary arrests and expulsions. These reprisals are all the more unacceptable because they target media professionals who fled Afghanistan precisely because they were threatened by the Taliban. Arresting them and sending them back to their country amounts to delivering them to obvious dangers: arrest, violence, and worse.”
The pressure on Afghan refugees in Pakistan has intensified since the launch of Pakistan’s military operation Operation Ghazab lil‑Haq (“Righteous Fury”) against Afghanistan on February 26. Authorities in Islamabad have increasingly framed tensions with Afghanistan as an “open warfare” situation, while accusing the Taliban of sheltering militant groups, including fighters linked to the Tehrik‑i‑Taliban Pakistan.
As a result, police operations targeting Afghan refugees have expanded across Pakistan, affecting even those with valid documents. These measures are also part of a broader policy launched in 2023 aimed at expelling large numbers of Afghan migrants from the country.
Since the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in August 2021, nearly 200 Afghan journalists and their families have sought temporary refuge in Pakistan while awaiting relocation. But the slowing of resettlement programmes has left many stranded in limbo, sometimes for years. By 2025, at least 20 Afghan journalists who had taken refuge in Pakistan had already been forcibly returned to Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, press freedom inside Afghanistan continues to deteriorate under Taliban rule. Independent media outlets face strict censorship, operational restrictions and frequent intimidation. In one recent example, on March 4 Taliban authorities shut down the private radio station Radio Khushal in Ghazni Province after it broadcast telephone calls from girls participating in an educational program.
Media rights groups say such measures illustrate the shrinking space for journalism in Afghanistan. According to the Reporters Without Borders 2025 World Press Freedom Index, Afghanistan now ranks 175th out of 180 countries, reflecting severe restrictions, censorship and intimidation faced by journalists attempting to report independently under Taliban rule.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have faced widespread accusations of discrimination against non-Pashtun ethnic groups and religious minorities, alongside restrictions on civil liberties, media operations, and public dissent.
HRW (Human Rights Watch) called on international actors to hold the Taliban accountable for human rights abuses and to ensure protection for Afghanistan’s minority communities, journalists, and activists.
