Free and independent media under Taliban is a distant dream: Report

Kabul [Afghanistan], January 20 (ANI): Afghan media is struggling to survive under Taliban as numerous radio and TV stations, as well as news agencies, have closed and as per estimates more than 6,000 journalists have lost their jobs, Afghan-based news agency Khaama Press reported.

It has become extremely tedious for journalists and media outlets in Afghanistan to report under the Taliban due to strict regulations as journalists are restricted to cover security issues, such as explosions and suicide attacks. The Taliban when it came to power in August 2021, promised that media would be free and independent to operate across the country. New rules were, however, imposed a month later that strictly monitor and censor journalists and the media.

The short-lived media freedom was gone after the initial weeks of the Taliban rule.
In 2022, more than 200 violation cases have been recorded against journalists in Afghanistan which include arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment, harassment, threats, and intimidation according to the United Nations. Media freedom in Afghanistan has gone from bad to worse and journalists are suffering from low morale under the ruling regime.

Many reporters have been arrested, persecuted and threatened with death for reporting sensitive issues which are not to the likes of Taliban authorities across the country, reported Khaama Press. Many radio, and TV stations and news agencies have closed their doors, with some estimates indicating that more than 6,000 journalists have lost their jobs.

Female Afghan journalists suffer from double pressure for being a journalist and a woman. The latest restrictions imposed by the Taliban restricting women from attending university, working with government or non-governmental aid organizations, and appearing in public places, have also affected female journalists, according to Khaama Press.

TOLO News recently reported that as the Taliban’s crackdown on journalists and media personnel continues in Afghanistan, numerous journalists in Paktia province on Friday criticized limited access to information and claimed that this has a negative influence on their operations as their basic rights to work are being challenged under the regime of the organization.

They claimed that they are not getting timely information from officials. “It is the responsibility of officials and relevant organizations to provide accurate and timely information to the media,” said a reporter, Abdul Rahman Wayand.
The journalists urged the authorities to fulfil their duty to grant access to information.

A number of journalists in the Afghan province also complained that their issues are no longer being addressed in the nation since certain departments refuse to provide the media with any information on certain cases, according to TOLOnews.