Award-winning Kashmiri filmmaker Arfat Sheikh held by ICE at Dulles, supporters say

US immigration authorities have detainedKashmiri filmmaker Arfat Sheikhshortly after he landed at a Virgina airport, an advocacy campaign said."On September 24th, 2026, our friend and filmmaker, Arfat Sheikh was unlawfully detained by ICE coming off a plane at Dulles Airport (IAD)," the Support Arfat Sheikh's Release campaign said on Tuesday."Sheikh, along with award-winning, celebrated author and filmmaker Tara Dorabji, was en route to an Art as Resistance panel which was scheduled to take place at Busboys and Poets in Washington, DC.

Sheikh was surrounded and arrested without a warrant by multiple ICE agents as he stepped off the plane at Dulles, even as he presented his immigration paperwork," the campaign added.The 42-year-old artist, who resides in Alexandria, Virginia, arrived in the US on a student visa to pursue graduate studies in film at the Georgia State University.He holds active work and residency authorisation under a pending immigration application.Saffron Kingdom and Kashmir disputeSheikh is being held in the Caroline Detention Center in Bowling Green, Virginia, said his friend and author Azad Essa.Sheikh is scheduled to appear before an immigration judge on Tuesday for a procedural hearing alongside a bond assessment.US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security have not issued an official comment regarding the detention.Sheikh gained international recognition for his debut feature film, Saffron Kingdom, which screened in more than 100 theaters and was streamed in 175 countries.The film explores the Kashmir conflictthrough a family's journey from Srinagar in India-administered Kashmir in the 1990s to US state of Georgia in 2019.The production received honours including Best Feature Film at the Anatolian International Film Awards, Chicago Filmmakers Award, and Los Angeles Film and Documentary Awards, as well as an Emerging Filmmaker distinction at the Teaneck International Film Festival.Supporters of Sheikh have launched a GoFundMe Campaign to help cover his legal representation and support his immediate community needs.Sheikh, who grew up in India-administered Kashmir during the 1990s, toldTRT Worldin a 2024 interview that "the film was born from his desire to reclaim his people's narrative, who have often been negatively depicted by Indian cinema.""This film is my way of breaking Bollywood's hegemony over our narrative.

It's about debunking the lies they have been peddling for years," he toldTRT World.In the interview he recalled traumatic memories of being locked in a room with his family while the Indian military tortured his uncle.His father, a renowned Kashmiri musician, was murdered while travelling to northern Indian state of Punjab. "His death was reported in newspapers, but each paper had its own version of events.

We were not even given his body," he said.Kashmir is split between India and Pakistan, both of which claim it in full but control only parts.

The two countries have fought three wars over the territory since the partition of British India in 1947.

China also holds a silver of Kashmir, making Kashmir world's only nuclear tri-junction.A significant proportion of Muslim Kashmiris favour the right to self-determination as promised by several UN Security Council resolutions, seeking either full independence or accession to Pakistan.In May 2025, India and Pakistan fought a brief war using missiles, fighter jets, drones and other weapons, which ultimately led to US involvement.US President Donald Trump helped broker a ceasefire during the military confrontation, an intervention later publicly praised by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while India maintained that the truce was reached through direct bilateral military communications and that Trump had played no role in it.