KABUL (At News) – The Taliban have warned that all media staffers in Kabul,the capital city, and elsewhere across the country will be targeted if allthe advertisement against the group does not end within a week,” thegroup’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement on Monday.
Some media outlets in Kabul and some provinces publish content, whereaccording to Taliban, is meant to defame them.
The extremist group has given Afghan TV channels, radio stations, printmedia, and other a week to cease airing anti-Taliban announcement. “Anumber of media outlets are broadcasting and launching some commercialadvertisements which is against Taliban,” the statement added, putting itas an insult to the group andtheir so-called Jihad that ordained to provokepeople’s sentiment against them.
Anti-Taliban propaganda if still went on air, the Taliban will considerthose outlets as espionage dens of the enemies and no one working in thesemedia outlets will have security anymore, the statement added.
NAI—an Afghan media advocacy organization has strongly slammed Talibangroup for its warning against the Afghan media outlets, calling on Afghangovernment to adopt comprehensive measure to ensure safety of Afghan media.
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According to agency, so far Taliban group is behind nine media-relatedincidents that taken place since the start of the current year, duringwhich one journalists was killed, and one other received injuries.
In the past, the Taliban have targeted a number of media outlets and itstaffers, but this time it the insurgent’s first threat over a specificissue such as the government-paid announcements.
According to media freedom group, Reporters Without Borders, Afghanistan isthe deadliest country in the world for journalists with 15 journalists werekilled in 2018. A total of 53 journalists were killed around the world in2018.
