Pakistan has forcibly returned at least 20 Afghan journalists to Afghanistan this year, in violation of international protections for refugees, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on Thursday.
Citing Pakistani media reports and its own documentation, RSF said the expulsions represented a “clear breach” of the international principle of non-refoulement, noting that dozens of other Afghan journalists living in Pakistan now face daily fears of arrest, extortion and immediate deportation.
According to RSF, around 200 Afghan journalists had fled to Pakistan after facing Taliban threats or reprisals following the group’s takeover in 2021. Many were awaiting relocation to Western countries with RSF’s support, but resettlement processes have stalled for years, leaving applicants in prolonged legal limbo.
Pakistan has rarely extended residency permits for Afghans since mid-2025, placing thousands — including journalists — at risk of being classified as “illegal,” RSF said. Over the past six months, it added, arbitrary arrests, detention and summary deportations of Afghan journalists have sharply increased, with some handed directly to Taliban authorities at the Torkham border without any review of their documents.
Pakistan’s Interior Ministry did not respond to RSF’s questions about the deportations, the group said.
Sélia Mercier, head of RSF’s South Asia desk, called the situation “intolerable,” saying journalists who escaped Taliban persecution now face renewed threats in Pakistan. “We urge Islamabad to halt these expulsions immediately and reinstate visa extensions,” she said, also appealing to Western governments to accelerate resettlement procedures.
RSF also published the testimonies of three Afghan journalists, whose identities were withheld for security reasons. One described repeated police raids and detentions: “I have no valid visa left. My wife is sick and even taking her to the doctor is dangerous. If I am deported, the Taliban will not spare me.”
Another said his wife had been deported directly from detention to the border: “Sixty people were kept in one room. Police never reviewed our documents. Corruption and the suspension of visa renewals have made life impossible.”
A third journalist said police confiscated his documents before he was pushed across the border: “My body crossed into Afghanistan but my soul died. Even when I managed to return to Pakistan, there was no sense of safety.”
RSF warned that the combination of halted visa renewals, arbitrary detentions and rapid deportations has left Afghan journalists in Pakistan in a “daily countdown to the end of their safety,” with many waiting months or years for resettlement interviews.
The watchdog said continued expulsions put Afghan journalists at direct risk of arrest, torture or reprisals by the Taliban, and urged Pakistan and Western governments to act to prevent a worsening humanitarian crisis.
