AT the beginning of June, an Afghan journalist was arrested by Islamabad Police and hastily deported to Afghanistan. He was in the process of renewing his Pakistani visa, but within a few hours of his arrest, he was forced to return to the place he had fled, which put him in immediate, serious danger.

This is not just an injustice. It is a blatant violation of international law and the fundamental principle of `non-refoulement`, which prohibits governments from returning individuals to countries where they face a real risk of grave human rights violations.

This case is far from isolated. Since January 2025, RSF has counted at least 10 Afghan journalists exiled in Pakistan who have been forcibly returned, and at least a dozen others have been arrested and detained; some have been held for days.

For months, Afghan journalists in Pakistan have lived in fear. After fleeing the terror of the Taliban in a bid to save their lives, they now face a new form of persecution in what was meant to be a place of refuge. In Pakistan, they are targeted by the police, the authorities, and brutal administrative processes. These individuals are not criminals. They are reporters who had no choice but to abandon everything to stay alive.

Yet Pakistan is becoming an increasingly hostile place for these exiled journalists, as the authorities have launched a massive crackdown on Afghan refugees following the `Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan` announced in October 2023.

A striking example of this shift is the drastic reduction in visa duration, which has been slashed to just one month, foreing journalists into a never-ending cycle of costly, uncertain and often unprocessed in time visa renewals. As a result, many journalists find themselves without valid documentation through no fault of their own, exposing them to constantthreats ofarrestand detention,even while their visa extension requests are under review.

Many live in a state of permanent fear, confined to their residences like prisoners, bracing themselves each time there is a knock at the door. RSF continues to receive alarming testimonies as these journalists describe being subjected to police checks, extortion, arbitrary detention, and threats of deportation to Afghanistan.

One journalist recounted how he and his wife were held in custody overnight while their children remained alone at home. Another spoke of how police stormed into his home, confiscated his documents and belongings, beat him, his wife, and his children, and then forciblydeported them to Afghanistan.

A woman journalist described how police raided her home, detaining her, her husband, and their children, despite having applied for a visa extension a month earlier. She was released due to her children`s age, but her husband was deported to Afghanistan, where his life is now in danger. She is now alone without family support. Others described being violently assaulted, having their money stolen and being deported after several days in a detention centre.

Back in Afghanistan, the authoritarian Taliban regime continues its brutal, unrelenting persecution of journalists. Dozens have been arbitrarily arrested, thrown into detention, and some have been subjected to appalling acts of torture. Journalists critical of the authorities are systematically hunted down. `Forced return to Afghanistan would be like sending us to the slaughterhouse,` one Afghan journalist a refugee who fled to Pakistan after receiving threats from Taliban authoritiesdue to his work told RSF. Another journalist who was deported recently to Afghanistan says he is now in hiding, as the Taliban actively seek out journalists who have been forcibly returned. He describedhis narrow escape from a raid on his home that could have cost him his life.

RSF calls on the Pakistani government to immediately end the shameful practices of targeting these at-risk journalists, and to uphold its international obligations. It must halt all arrests and deportations of Afghan journalists and extend visa durations until these individuals are safely resettled in third countries.

Pakistan must guarantee the safety and presence of Afghan journalists on its soil.

Delivering these news professionals into the hands of a regime that views the free press as an enemy to be destroyed is simply indefensible.

Most journalists in exile in Pakistan are awaiting a visa for a third country. RSF also urges the international community to guarantee legal pathways for Afghan journalists, stranded in a harrowing situation, and request the embassies to speed uptheirvisacases.

Antoine Bemard is director Advocacy & Assistance at RepoMets Without Borders.

Iqbal Khattak is executive director at Freedom Network and countt y representative of RepoMers Without Borders in Pakistan.