Indian travel vlogger clarifies Afghanistan 'arrest' was threat over solo travel

An Indian travel vlogger who sparked panic by posting that she had been "arrested" by the Mujahideen in Afghanistan has clarified that she was not detained, but instead threatened with arrest for travelling without a male companion.

Arunima, a content creator from Kerala who documents her travels under the name "Backpacker Arunima", had posted an urgent appeal on social media on Monday. She shared a translated message from local authorities reading, "You were arrested by Mujahideen just now because you do not have an official letter," and asked her followers for help contacting the Indian embassy.

The post caused immediate concern among her large online audience—she has more than 1.2 million followers on Instagram, 730,000 subscribers on YouTube, and 239,000 on Facebook.

What happened in Bamyan?

According to her subsequent update, the trouble began when she arrived in the central Afghan province of Bamyan around 7:00 pm. Local officials stopped her to check her passport, visa, and travel permits.

It was then, she said, that they informed her she was violating Afghan law, which restricts women from travelling without a male companion or guide.

"According to the law of this country, a woman cannot travel alone," Arunima wrote in her update. She added that she had previously been denied a travel permit in Jalalabad for the same reason.

How the situation was resolved

Terrified by the threat of detention, she posted the initial appeal on Instagram and Facebook in the hope that someone would see it and help her.

She also contacted an Afghan man who had assisted her earlier in her journey. He spoke to the Bamyan authorities on her behalf, and after a series of discussions, officials agreed to let her go on the condition that she obtain a permit and hire a guide.

Arunima, who has spent six years hitchhiking and documenting remote and risky regions, said the entire ordeal was down to her gender. "I had to go through all this only because I am a woman," she said.

What happens next?

Though she was allowed to proceed, her journey is far from over. She said she planned to travel roughly 500 kilometres towards the Uzbekistan border, a route she expects will be heavily guarded by checkpoints.

Neither the Indian Ministry of External Affairs nor local Afghan authorities have publicly commented on the incident, and the details of her encounter have not been independently verified.