![]() The interim Taliban government has issued a set of “journalism rules,” including media compliance with the group's interpretation of Islamic doctrine on “enjoying good and forbidding wrong.” He noted that “more than six million Afghans consume the BBC’s independent and impartial journalism on TV every week and it is crucial they are not denied access to it in the future.”Ī Taliban information ministry spokesman, when asked for his comments on whether they have ordered Afghan channels to remove the international broadcasters from their airways, told VOA he would collect information and get back.ĭomestic and international critics say media and freedom of speech have worsened under Taliban rule in Afghanistan.Īfghan journalists have been repeatedly detained and subjected to violence by security forces. “This is a worrying development at a time of uncertainty and turbulence for the people of Afghanistan,” Kafala said. "The BBC's TV news bulletins in Pashto, Persian and Uzbek have been taken off air in Afghanistan, after the Taliban ordered our TV partners to remove international broadcasters from their airwaves," Tarik Kafala confirmed in a statement Sunday. ![]() The head of languages at BBC World Service also called on the Taliban to immediately remove the ban on its news bulletins. Lόpez added “while we are disappointed and saddened by the Taliban’s orders to our television affiliate partners in the country, our commitment to providing factual information to the people of Afghanistan is one that the Voice of America will continue on television, radio, and the internet on and as well as on social media.” The American broadcaster produces a half-hour news bulletin in Pashto and Dari, the two main languages spoken in Afghanistan, five days a week for its Afghan partners, TOLO news and Shamshad TV. ![]() “The content restrictions that the Taliban are attempting to impose are antithetical to freedom of expression that the people of Afghanistan deserve,” said Lόpez. “We ask the Taliban to reconsider this troubling and unfortunate decision,” Acting VOA Director Yolanda Lόpez said in a statement Sunday. ![]() VOA, which is headquartered in Washington, has swiftly denounced the Taliban for taking its programs off air. The ban is the latest in a series of restrictions the Islamist group has imposed on Afghan media to stifle freedom of expression since taking control of the country last August. The Taliban have barred private television stations in Afghanistan from airing Voice of America (VOA) and British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) news programs. ![]()
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