The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined two other press freedom groups in calling on Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to end the intensifying harassment, arbitrary arrests, and deportations of Afghan journalists living in exile in Pakistan.
In a joint letter sent March 13, the organizations said Afghan journalists who fled Taliban persecution were now being targeted in Pakistan amid escalating cross-border conflict. Deporting these journalists to Afghanistan exposed them to foreseeable risks, including retaliation, arbitrary detention, and other serious harm, said CPJ, along with Reporters Without Borders and Free Press Unlimited.
The letter called on Pakistan to immediately halt the arbitrary arrest, detention, harassment, and forced deportation of Afghan journalists; respect the principle of non-refoulement; release detained Afghan journalists held solely because of their immigration status or Afghan nationality; and establish a temporary protection framework for those awaiting resettlement to third countries.
Read the full letter here.