The Taliban Media Violation Commission has announced that the broadcasts of the Afghanistan International TV channel are banned in Afghanistan and have warned analysts, experts and journalists to refrain from participating in discussions and cooperation with this media.
In a statement today (Thursday, 9 May), the commission for dealing with media violations of the Taliban group said that the commission sanctioned the broadcasts of the Afghanistan International news network and banned cooperation with this media in Afghanistan.
In this announcement, it is stated that the Afghanistan International TV news channel broadcasts against the Taliban regime and with the content it produces, it gives an ax to the hands of the Taliban opponents and asked the people to boycott the broadcasts of this news channel and not to listen to it.
In this announcement, the commission to deal with media violations of the Taliban group has warned all analysts, experts and journalists to refrain from participating in discussions and cooperation with this media, and the members of this commission in this meeting provide facilities in public places to cover events and produce It has also banned any content from this media.
But; Afghanistan International news channel has not given an official reaction in this regard so far.
The Taliban previously also stopped the activities of Noor and Beria private televisions in Kabul and called it against the principles of their system.
However, in its annual report on the situation of media and journalists in Afghanistan, the Center of Afghan Journalists said that the Taliban use the media that operate inside Afghanistan as a propaganda tool for their regime and that these media cannot publish content that is against their opinion.
This center has said that the findings of this center show that in the last 12 months, it has recorded 136 incidents of violation of the freedom of media and journalists in Afghanistan by the Taliban group, and from May 2023 until now, the media and journalists in Afghanistan in terms of the level of freedom And enjoying their fundamental and legal rights, they have faced more restrictions than in the previous period, and their rights have been violated more widely.
The findings of this center show that, based on this report, the Taliban have enacted at least 17 directives against the media law in the country after retaking control of Afghanistan. In the past year, this center has recorded 136 incidents of media and journalists’ freedom violations, including 73 cases of threats and 64 journalists are arrested by the Taliban group.
According to this organization, now, along with the Taliban Intelligence Department, the Department of Public Prohibition and Prohibition of the Group is also summoning, interrogating and detaining journalists, and currently, in addition to the Taliban leader and senior officials, the powerful officials of this group are also controlling the media. They impose restrictions.
This center has asked the Taliban group to respect the freedom of the media and allow the media and journalists to operate based on the law of access to information and the law of public media.
This is while the Reporters Without Borders organization said on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day that Afghanistan is among the worst countries for journalists and press freedom after Syria and Eritrea.
According to the press freedom list prepared by Reporters Without Borders on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, Afghanistan ranks 178th in the world with 19.09 points.
But; In the last two and a half years, the officials of the Taliban group have always spoken about the support of the free media in Afghanistan and emphasized that in the last two and a half years, the environment for media activities in the country has improved and the caretaker government supports the free media in the country.