On the occasion of International Access to Information Day, a number of Afghan journalists say that in some cases they are facing many restrictions from the Taliban to prepare reports, and they emphasize that some of the Taliban’s spokespersons are refusing to provide information.
A number of organizations supporting journalists today, Saturday, 28 September, on the occasion of September 28, or the World Access to Information Day, say that access to information is one of the basic rights of journalists and media, and the Taliban group should make more efforts in this regard.
Abdul Qadeem Wyar, the head of The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC) in Afghanistan, honored this day and said that access to information is one of the basic rights of journalists and media, and the Taliban group should try to remove obstacles from the activities of journalists and media in Afghanistan.
Mr. Wyar added that according to the Law of Public Media, the spokespersons of the caretaker government are obliged to provide the details to the media and reporters as soon as possible.
On the other hand, Mujeebur Rahman Bhair, the head of one of the video media in this program, expressed concern about the restrictions imposed by the Taliban on the work of journalists and media in the country, and said that the law of access to information should be ratified by the leadership of the Taliban as soon as possible. Media and journalists should be placed.
Mr. Bhair added that although national security is provided in the country and journalists do not have much problem in terms of security, but; He emphasized that the lack of access to information is the only serious problem of journalists, and the serious need of journalists is reliable and timely information, which should be given by the officials of the Taliban group.
In this regard, a number of journalists say that in some cases they face many restrictions from the Taliban group to prepare reports and emphasize that some spokespersons of the caretaker government provide information to the media with a delay or refrain from giving information.
Zahra Bahnar, one of the journalists in Kabul, says in this context, although 3 years have passed since the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, but; Even now, the problems of journalists such as lack of access to information, economic situation and life safety of journalists still persist and journalists are not free in Afghanistan and are restricted by the Taliban every day.
Ms. Bahner added that the working conditions for women in the media have become very difficult, and the right to access information for female journalists is very limited compared to men, and they are treated in a double manner in many news conferences.
He stated that if the media and journalists, especially female journalists, are not supported by the Taliban and organizations that support journalists, the future of information in the country will be worrying.
Mrs. Bahner asked the institutions supporting the media and the Taliban group to pay serious attention to the problems of the media, especially the access to information in Afghanistan, so that information in Afghanistan does not stop.
Ahmad Zazi, another journalist in Kabul, said that the lack of cooperation of the Taliban spokespersons with the journalists, the blocking of the security forces in the city and the market during interviews or filming, as well as the lack of approval of the law on access to information, are among their problems.
Mr. Zazi also demanded serious attention from the Taliban group in the field of information in Afghanistan and emphasized that the Taliban should provide extensive support to the country’s media.
In this regard, officials of the Ministry of Information and Culture of the Taliban group said in this program that efforts are underway to solve these problems and challenges.
Habib Ghafran, spokesman for the Ministry of Information and Culture of the Taliban group, said in this program that during the past months, meetings have been held in some zones of the country with the presence of caretaker government spokespersons and journalists, and they have been asked to provide information to journalists and media.
Mr. Ghafran announced the formation of a directorate under the name of “Directorate of Access to Information” in the framework of this ministry and said that with the formation of this directorate, many problems of journalists and media in Afghanistan will be solved.
On the other hand, Rahmatullah Nariwal, head of the information access department of the Ministry of Information and Culture of the Taliban group, also confirmed that there are problems in the access to information sector in Afghanistan, stating that access to information is the inalienable right of journalists. He assured that with the establishment of this office, the problems of lack of access to information will also be solved.
International Access to Information Day is celebrated every year while the problems faced by journalists and media in Afghanistan have not decreased and with the passing of more than a year since the end of the work on the Access to Information Law by the caretaker government officials, this law is still It has not been approved and made public.