In a bid to further censor and repress the media freedom in Afghanistan, Taliban issues 11 new rules for Afghan media. These curbs include directives against publishing topics that are in conflict with Islam or insulting to national personalities, and also instruct journalists to produce news reports in coordination with the government media office, The New York Times reported.
Since the collapse of Afghan government, over 150 media outlets in Afghanistan have shut down their operations as they struggled to carry out their day to day functions. This is because the Taliban has been continuously creating intrusion in media’s ‘right to information’ which has hampered the work of scribe organisations, Tolo News reported. Some of the most prominent newspapers were also forced to cease print operations and now publish only online, amid the country’s sharp economic downturn, The New York Times reported. “Journalists are just frightened,” said Steven Butler, a senior member of America-based press freedom organization adding that “the organization had been receiving hundreds of emails from [Afghan] journalists asking for help.” Earlier in this month, the Taliban also cracked upon the journalists covering demonstrations against the ‘new government’ formed after ousting the democratically elected government. All the happenings in the country are contrary to the promises made by the Taliban of respecting human values, the group continues to violate the basic human rights of media personnel as they are being harassed, tortured, and killed.
