Kabul, August 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Afghan journalist Sayed Qasim Hashemi and filmmaker Hamed Ehsas have been missing in Pakistan’s Islamabad since July 4, with their families appealing to authorities for information about their whereabouts, according to local media reports.
Family members said the two men left their homes together on July 4 to purchase camera lens equipment but never returned. They subsequently approached police and judicial authorities in Pakistan, but have not received any clear information regarding the pair.
According to the families, Hashemi and Ehsas were living in Pakistan without legal residency after entering the country with their families following the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
The vehicle used by the two men was later located in Islamabad through its GPS system, but neither Hashemi nor Ehsas was found in or around it, raising concerns over their safety.
The disappearance comes amid an intensified Pakistani crackdown on undocumented foreign nationals, particularly Afghans, involving arrests and deportations.
Earlier in July, police detained 40 undocumented Afghan nationals in Charsadda city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Deputy Commissioner Azmatullah Wazir said the detainees were shifted to a holding centre in Peshawar and would be deported through the Torkham border crossing after completion of legal and administrative procedures.
Wazir said operations against undocumented foreign nationals would continue in coordination with police and other law enforcement agencies, in accordance with immigration laws.
On June 28, Pakistan’s Interior Ministry ordered the immediate arrest of Afghan nationals found living in the country without valid visas from July 10.
Pakistan’s deportation drive, initially launched in 2023, was renewed in April last year after the government withdrew hundreds of thousands of residence permits issued to Afghans and warned them to leave or face arrest.
Amnesty International on June 20 urged the international community to halt what it described as unlawful expulsions of Afghan refugees and called for their protection under international human rights law. The organisation said Afghan refugees were facing arbitrary arrests and family separations in host countries, while those returning to Afghanistan faced human rights violations amid a severe humanitarian crisis.
The families of Hashemi and Ehsas have urged Pakistani authorities to establish their whereabouts and ensure their safety.
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