Islamabad, September 13, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Human rights organisation Amnesty International has urged Pakistani authorities to investigate the disappearance of Afghan journalist Sayed Qasim Hashemi and artist Hamed Ehsas and provide their families with information about their whereabouts.
In a statement, Amnesty said the families of both Afghan nationals had been unable to contact them since July 4, while Pakistani police had refused to register cases concerning their alleged abduction.
“Journalist Sayed Qasim Hashemi and artist Hamed Ehsas, both Afghan nationals who fled Afghanistan immediately after the Taliban takeover, fearing threats to their lives due to the nature of their work, have been missing since July 4 in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan,” Amnesty said.
It said neither man’s family had been able to reach them and alleged that police authorities had refused to register cases regarding their abduction.
“The circumstances raise concerns that they may have been subjected to enforced disappearance or arbitrary detention. Pakistani authorities have an obligation to investigate their disappearance and inform the families about their whereabouts and fate,” the rights group said.
According to their families, Hashemi and Ehsas left their home together on July 4 to purchase camera lens equipment but never returned. Their relatives subsequently approached police and judicial authorities in Pakistan but received no clear information about their whereabouts, Afghanistan’s Khaama Press reported.
The families said both men were living in Pakistan without legal residency after entering the country with their families following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.
They also reported that the vehicle used by the two men was later located in Islamabad through its GPS system. However, neither Hashemi nor Ehsas was found in or around the vehicle.
Their families have expressed concern for their safety and urged Pakistani authorities to provide information about their whereabouts and fate.
The two Afghan nationals went missing amid intensified Pakistani action against undocumented foreign nationals, particularly Afghans, including arrests and deportations.
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