Pen International Calls For Immediate, Unconditional Release of Poet Haseeb Ahrari

Pen International has called for the immediate and unconditional release of poet Haseeb Ahrari from Taliban’s detention. According to Pen International, Ahrari’s detention is the latest example of the Taliban’s ongoing crackdown on civil society and freedom of expression.

The rights organisation has stressed on the immediate release of all those detained by the Taliban for their “peaceful expression”.

Ma Thida, Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee, said, “In a country with such a rich literary tradition, where poets are cherished by Afghans of all ages, Ahrari’s arrest is a tragic example of how the Taliban’s rule by repression threatens to undermine Afghanistan’s cultural heritage.”

According to Pen International, Ahrari was born in the Panjshir Province and is known for his poems on social media, which often centre on themes of freedom and patriotism.

The organisation stressed that the poet had returned from Iran and planned to publish a collection of his poems.

Earlier, reliable sources told Afghanistan International that the Taliban had arrested Ahrari from his home in the Khair Khana neighbourhood in district 11 of Kabul.

The Taliban has not yet commented on the reports of the detention of this Afghan poet.

Sources close to Ahrari's family said that he has no political affiliation, and they do not know the reason behind the arrest of this young poet.

After taking control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban has widely arrested civil activists, journalists, writers, and human rights activists.