ISLAMABAD: National media watchdog Freedom Network has called on the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the international community and the United Nations to come forward and support Afghan refugee journalists who are coping with a number of issues and challenges since they left Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in August 2021.

The appeal for support from all relevant stakeholders for these refugee journalists, numbering less than 200, comes as World Refugee Day is being observed globally, including Pakistan, on Thursday.

“Let’s join hands to help and assist these refugee journalists, who are cramped by a host of issues and challenges,” Freedom Network Executive Director Iqbal Khattak said on Wednesday in a press statement. “Helping these refugee journalists is a pledge we need to make to support free media in Afghanistan,” he added.

He said the media vanished from Afghanistan with the collapse of President Dr Ashraf Ghani’s government in Kabul on August 15 2021, and most journalists fled the country to take shelter in other countries and they transited through Pakistan mostly.

“Pakistani visa, job, police-linked harassment, no access to public sector healthcare and education for these refugee journalists and their children, long wait for interviews with western embassies for third resettlement are challenges these refugee journalists are mostly coping with,” Khattak said.

“The UN refugee agency is not able to register these Afghan journalists as Islamabad is not allowing their registration to discourage a fresh wave of new arrivals in the country where Afghan nationals are still living in thousands without much support from the international community,” he added.

“International media rights organisations are supporting these journalists by extending them humanitarian assistance and support letters to recommend them for Western and non-western embassies in Islamabad to help them resettle in third countries.

Many of them were able to leave Pakistan after they were granted visas. However, there are some less than 200 journalists still waiting. Some have received bad news of visa rejection also,“ Mr Khattak said.

Shershah Hamdard is a senior journalist and author of many books on journalism and he has been living in the suburbs of Islamabad for the last two years with his family. He made a passionate appeal in a video message to connect him with relevant stakeholders through airwaves to share the needs his fellow journalists from Afghanistan are facing.

“The Afghan journalists are facing many problems.

We urge all stakeholders to come forward to help us in this hour of need,“ Shershah Hamdard, said while addressing the Pakistan government, and international community through its embassies in Islamabad and the UN systems.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2024