Local sources said the decision came directly from Hibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Taliban movement, noting that some of the station’s technical staff had been transferred to Kabul.
The Afghan Journalists Center criticized the move, calling it a “serious setback” for the country’s visual media landscape. In a statement, the Taliban urged the group to reconsider its decision.
The Journalists’ Center reported that “the order to stop broadcasting in Kandahar was verbally communicated to the station’s employees on August 14, i.e. before the anniversary of the fall of the republic and the return of the Taliban to power.”
“However, this was only announced recently after the reassignment of local staff to the central office in Kabul,” he added.
The center added that broadcasting in Kandahar was already severely restricted by various media policies, especially a directive issued last year by Mullah Shirin Akhund, the Taliban governor of Kandahar, which banned photography and videography at official and unofficial events.
According to the Journalists’ Center, the recent order to stop broadcasting is an extension of these restrictive measures.
The centre also warned that while local broadcasting has been suspended in Kandahar, rebroadcasts from the central station in Kabul continue in the province, raising concerns that this could also be halted.
The Afghan Journalists Center condemned the Taliban’s actions as a violation of the country’s media laws, noting that the Taliban-controlled state television lacks “the freedom to operate and cover events fairly” both in Kabul and in the provinces.
Source: AMU
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2024-09-05 04:30:58
