April 28, 2025
By Nadeem Khan
QUETTA
Scattered across the city, Afghan musicians and singers are living in fear of a looming threat: forced deportation back to an Afghanistan where their art is banned, their livelihoods erased, and their very survival at risk under Taliban rule.
‘Without music … we have nothing’
For musicians like Fayyaz Hum Ahang, Pakistan has been home for decades. “Our weddings were held here, our children were born here, our lives were built here,” he says. But now, the crackdown on Afghan refugees has left them terrified.
“The Taliban government has banned music—our art is dead in Afghanistan. Other refugees might return and restart businesses, but for us, music is our only income. If we’re forced back, we’ll be stripped of everything,” he tells Voicepk.net.
The Taliban’s prohibition on music is absolute—performers face persecution, instruments are destroyed, and cultural expression is suffocated. For these exiled artists, returning means not just unemployment, but danger.
A cruel and chaotic deportation process
Human rights activist Rozina Khilji condemns Pakistan’s forced repatriation campaign as inhumane.
“The way Afghan refugees are being expelled is degrading and brutal,” she tells Voicepk. “Families are crammed into trucks like cargo—women, children, the elderly, even dialysis patients and pregnant mothers. Students are forced to abandon their education mid-term. Some will die without access to medical care in Afghanistan.”
She argues that if repatriation was unavoidable, it should have been phased and organized. “Why not send people in groups? Let them resettle first, then call their families. But most critically—what awaits artists and musicians? They’re being sent back to a country where their profession is a crime. For them, this isn’t just deportation—it’s a death sentence.”
Khilji urges international intervention: “If Pakistan won’t protect them, the UN must relocate them to countries where they can practice their art safely. Forcing them back to Afghanistan is condemning them to poverty, persecution, or worse.”
UN steps in—but is it enough?
Recognizing the extreme risks faced by Afghan musicians, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has accelerated their registration, hoping to shield them from deportation. Yet, with Pakistan’s mass expulsion drive ongoing, many fear it’s too little, too late.
A UNHCR-issued non-return advisory has been in place since 2021, calling for a suspension of forced returns of Afghan nationals from any country regardless of their status. UNHCR and IOM are especially concerned for Afghan nationals who may face a risk of harm upon return, such as ethnic and religious minorities, women and girls, journalists, human rights activists, and members of artistic professions like musicians and others.
‘Our capital is music—and in Afghanistan, it’s forbidden’
One musician, who requested anonymity, speaks in a trembling voice: “Afghanistan is now an ‘Islamic Emirate’ where music is haram. Our struggle isn’t just about jobs—it’s about survival. Our instruments are our only assets. We fled to Pakistan to feed our children. If sent back, we can’t perform, we can’t earn, and we may even be punished for our past work. We’ll be destitute—or dead.”
These musicians now stand at the edge of an abyss. In Pakistan, they face forced expulsion while they face persecution and starvation in Afghanistan. Without international action, their art—and lives—may vanish.