One year has passed since my family and I were separated from and fled our beloved homeland, Afghanistan; a country for whose development, freedom, and service to its people I worked for years with thousands of hopes and aspirations.
After years of working and serving in various fields, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan fell to the Taliban on August 15, 2021. Despite the heavy atmosphere of fear and despair, I and a number of young people tried to resume our media, cultural, and charitable activities and to continue serving our people and country through various means.
Over the past four years, media activities continued under the shadow of fear, restrictions, and systematic censorship. By covering civil protests and the human rights demands of Afghan women, we tried to stand alongside protesting women and other citizens who were fighting for their fundamental rights and freedoms.
However, every day the space for civil, media, and social activities became increasingly restricted, and despite repeated disappointments, efforts to continue our activities did not stop.
According to Shahpoor Naibzada , Thursday, July 24, 2025, was one of the darkest days of his life; the day when the media outlet under his management, “Hama News Agency,” as well as the “Mutahid Development and Charity Organization,” was shut down. He and a number of his colleagues had provided services through the organization to the families of martyrs, families without guardians, and orphaned children.
He says that after these institutions were shut down, he left Kabul for Ghazni Province for some time, hoping that conditions would improve again. However, he later learned through friends inside and outside the country that the situation had become worse. According to him, following the arrest of several of his colleagues, concerns about his own arrest and that of other employees also increased.
Naibzada says Taliban intelligence forces had repeatedly visited the office and questioned the office guard about his whereabouts and home address. As security concerns increased, on August 1, 2025, following the advice of one of his friends in Germany, he obtained Pakistani tourist visas for himself, his wife, and his one-and-a-half-year-old daughter.
He describes this decision as one of the most difficult decisions of his life; a decision that, in his own words, was more like “fleeing the homeland” than simply “traveling.”
Finally, on August 15, 2025, Naibzada left Afghanistan together with his wife and young daughter. He says that on the way to Kabul Airport, he experienced conflicting emotions of sadness, anger, despair, and homesickness.
According to him, while leaving Kabul Airport, one of the security personnel, whom he believed to be a member of the intelligence services, took him aside for questioning. The individual asked about his destination, the reason for his departure, and his relationship with his daughter, and also requested documents related to his marriage and the child’s birth.
Naibzada says that following the intervention of his wife and the assistance of a representative of Kam Air, he was eventually allowed to board the aircraft and leave Afghanistan.
A year has now passed since he and his family began living outside Afghanistan; a year that, according to him, has felt as difficult as a decade. He speaks of the hardships of living in Islamabad and his young daughter’s numerous illnesses, adding that seeing the toys and children’s belongings left behind at their home in Afghanistan repeatedly brings back memories of his homeland.
In his account, Naibzada holds the Taliban responsible for a significant part of the restrictions, fear, and widespread migration of Afghan citizens, and describes the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan as one of the most painful events of his life.
At the end, he says he hopes that one day he will be able to return to Afghanistan with joy and peace, breathe the air of his country once again, walk through its streets and alleys, and witness Afghan girls and boys returning to schools and universities.
He adds that he hopes these dreams will become a reality before the end of his life.
This account reflects the personal views and experiences of Shahpoor Naibzada, an Afghan journalist and writer.
Source: Account of Shahpoor Naibzada, journalist
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