By Mohammad Jafar Niazi
Lost in Limbo
After August 15, 2021, with the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, some journalists were detained and imprisoned. Many others were forced to flee, abandoning their homes, homeland, and possessions, and sought refuge in neighboring countries. While a few were relocated to Western nations with the support of some governments, many have spent the past four years in countries like Pakistan, Iran, and Tajikistan in a state of total uncertainty.
“Western Spies,” and “Enemies of Islam” in Afghanistan.
“ In Pakistan, threats of deportation, lack of support, homelessness, poverty, and no job opportunities are part of our daily nightmare. No media, civil society organization, or government supports us. It feels like we are lost in a foreign land. Sometimes, even Taliban-controlled Afghanistan seems less terrifying”, says Hakimullah Bigzad, a veteran journalist who continued to work with domestic media for a year after the Taliban’s return, has been living in complete limbo in Pakistan for more than two years. He now resides in the Jinnah Garden area of Islamabad with his family.
Left alone with Lack of International Solidarity
He says: “I worked for years with national and international media, constantly trying to be the voice of the voiceless. I produced reports on violence against women and children and sacrificed countless sleepless nights for hope and awareness. But with the Taliban’s return, everything fell apart. I lost my homeland and was forced to become a refugee. Today, in Pakistan, uncertainty and statelessness are wearing down my soul.”
Bigzad adds that the organizations and countries that had promised to help have failed to fulfil their commitments.
Pakistan: an Unaffordable Open-Air-Prison
Mohammad Sharif Danish, a former university professor and Afghan journalist, lives with his wife—a former defence lawyer—and their young daughter in the F-aisal Town area of Islamabad. He says he must pay about $300 every month to renew his family’s visa; otherwise, they face deportation.
“Pakistan was once our neighbour and shelter, but now it feels like an open-air prison. Our visa used to be valid for six months, but now it expires every month. If we don’t renew it, we risk being deported. No international organization is addressing our situation. While we are victims of violence, we are treated like criminals here.”
Danish adds that he is not allowed to work or engage in any professional activity, and the Pakistani police routinely threaten and harass Afghan migrants. “There’s no peaceful night or worry-free day. Pakistani police could show up at any moment and detain us over an expired visa. Depression is no longer a disease—it’s a daily reality.”
He continues: “After Kabul fell, everything was lost. My wife was also a defence lawyer under the previous government. We knew if we stayed, we’d face arrest or even extrajudicial execution. Now in exile, we have no identity, no hope for the future. Our only wish is to be transferred to a safe country where we can write again, speak freely, and resume our humanitarian mission.”
Afghan Journalists: Ready for Launch in Afghanistan and also in so-called “Safe” Third Countries.
According to Reporters Without Borders, more than 40% of Afghanistan’s media outlets have shut down since the Taliban’s takeover, and at least 6,400 journalists have lost their jobs. In the first three months after Kabul’s fall, 43% of media outlets disappeared, and more than two-thirds of the country’s 12,000 journalists left Afghanistan. Currently, around 200 Afghan journalists are living in limbo in Pakistan under the threat of deportation. Many say that international media and human rights organizations ignore their emails or respond coldly.
Some anonymous media sources claim that organizations supposedly supporting journalists either have ties with the Taliban regime or only assist their relatives. No institution—neither inside nor outside Afghanistan—has taken real steps to support journalists in exile.
Afghan journalists in exile, especially those stranded in Pakistan and Iran, are calling on the international community, media organizations, and human rights groups to be their voice and take urgent action to expedite their relocation to safe countries.
