Afghanistan

An Afghan Ally Was Arrested by ICE. Less Than 24 Hours Later, He Was Dead.

ICE responded to Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal's death by portraying him as a criminal. 

Beth Bailey | 3.25.2026 12:41 PM

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(Courtesy of #AfghanEvac)

Within 24 hours of being taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), former Afghan Special Forces soldier Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal was dead. While ICE seeks to paint the father of six as a criminal, advocates working with Afghan refugees say his death was a preventable tragedy.

When officers arrived at Paktyawal's Richardson, Texas, home on March 13, they arrested the 41-year-old in front of his children. Paktyawal's wife told #AfghanEvac that she alerted arresting officers that her husband required an inhaler to breathe. She said officers did not take the inhaler and did not allow her to provide it later.

Paktyawal called family later that day from an ICE facility, saying he was feeling unwell. He was sent to Dallas' Parkland Hospital at 11:45 p.m., and as of 8 a.m. the following morning, Paktyawal's family had been assured that he was still alive. Paktyawal was pronounced dead at 9:10 a.m., yet his family was not notified of the death until around noon.

#AfghanEvac reports that Paktyawal served alongside U.S. Army Special Forces for more than a decade in the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command. Because of the threat of reprisal, which has led to the deaths of numerous former........

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