Media watchdog urges Pakistan to cancel deportation of 200 undocumented Afghan journalists

An international media watchdog is urging Pakistan not to deport more than 200 Afghan journalists who fled their homeland after the Taliban regained control in August 2021.

The plea by Reporters Without Borders comes a week after Pakistan launched a crackdown on undocumented foreigners, mostly an estimated 1.7 million Afghans.

Reporters Without Borders said in a statement Monday that some Afghan journalists in Pakistan “have been subjected to harassment and extortion by Pakistani police officers, arbitrary arrest, pressure on landlords to expel Afghan tenants, and never-ending visa application procedures.”

It said some had published sensitive information in Afghanistan and sought refuge in Pakistan for safety.

Pakistani authorities said they would not expel any Afghan journalists facing threats at home, but that they would only consider the cases of “genuine working journalists.”

Reporters without Borders ranks Afghanistan 152 out of 180 countries in its latest World Press Freedom Index.