KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Pakistani police have detained Atta-ur-Rahman Shirzad, an Afghan human rights activist, in Islamabad and transferred him to a temporary holding facility used for processing deportations, a human rights organization said on Friday.
In a statement, the International Federation of Human Rights Defenders in Exile said Shirzad was detained on Thursday in Islamabad’s B-17 sector and taken to Haji Camp, a transit center where Afghan nationals are typically held for one to two days before being deported to Afghanistan.
In an audio recording obtained by KabulNow, Shirzad says he was beaten during his detention and says he is unwell.
According to the federation, Shirzad was detained for not holding a valid visa. Pakistan halted extensions of visas for Afghan nationals in mid-2025, leaving many Afghans unable to renew their legal status once their documents expired.
The federation raised concerns over Shirzad’s detention, citing his background in human rights work and his previous detention by the Taliban in Afghanistan. It urged Pakistani authorities to address his case in line with humanitarian considerations and international obligations, particularly the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the forced return of individuals to countries where they may face serious harm.
The detention comes amid an intensified crackdown by Pakistani authorities on undocumented Afghan refugees in recent months, including journalists and civil society activists living in the capital. Earlier this month, Afghan journalist Samim Naimi and women’s rights activist Zarlasht Barakzai were also detained in Islamabad, according to sources.
According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), at least 20 Afghan journalists were detained and deported from Pakistan in 2025, raising concerns about the safety of those returned to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
Thousands of Afghan activists, journalists, and former government officials fled Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power in 2021, citing fears of reprisals. While some have been resettled in Europe and the United States, many remain in neighboring Pakistan and Iran, awaiting asylum or immigration decisions.
International human rights organizations have repeatedly urged Pakistan and Iran to halt deportations of Afghan refugees, warning that many face heightened risks if returned to Afghanistan due to their work, affiliations, or public profiles. They have also called on Western governments to accelerate resettlement programs to reduce the exposure of vulnerable Afghans to detention and forced return.