Due to the war in Afghanistan, 51 media outlets have been closed since April. Apart from this, more than one thousand media persons have lost their jobs.
A security personnel stationed in Afghanistan
The Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture said on Tuesday that 51 media outlets in the country have been closed due to the escalation in violence in the past three months. The ministry said that there are 16 media outlets in Helmand, including four TV networks, which have stopped functioning in recent weeks. Kasim Wafizada, acting minister for information and culture, said so far 35 media outlets have stopped their operations. More than six media outlets have gone into the hands of the Taliban and their activities are being used by the Taliban as their voice.
Data from Nai, an organization that supports open media in Afghanistan, shows that 51 media outlets across the country have been closed since April. These outlets were operating in Helmand, Kandahar, Badakhshan, Takhar, Baglan, Samangan, Balkh, Sar-e-Pul, Jazzan, Faryab, Nuristan and Badgi. Five TV networks and 44 radio stations, a media center and a news agency are among the outlets that have ceased operations. In this period, more than 1,000 journalists and media persons, including 150 women, lost their jobs.
So far two journalists have died in violence
Two journalists have lost their lives in the last two months. Ariana News news anchor Meena Khairi was killed in an explosion in Kabul on June 3. At the same time, Danish Siddiqui, an Indian journalist working for Reuters, was killed in a Taliban attack on his way to Spin Boldak district in Kandahar. The National Radio and TV Network is one of the TV networks to cease operations in Helmand and its Lashkar Gah office in District 1 has fallen into the hands of the Taliban. Hayatullah Davari, head of national TV in Helmand, said, “Our demand is that the media buildings should not be damaged. They should not be used as a stronghold.
Five radio stations turned pro-Taliban
Some pro-media organizations said they were concerned about some media outlets falling into the hands of the Taliban. He said five radio stations have started pro-Taliban broadcasts in their areas of influence in Baghlan, Faryab, Badakhshan and Samangan provinces. Officials of Dehraud Radio in Uruzgan claimed that the Taliban captured Dehraud district two weeks ago and then looted all the equipment of the radio station. He also claimed that the Taliban destroyed the station’s antenna. The Taliban have not commented on the allegation.
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