PEC EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER AFGHAN MEDIA OUTLETS’ CLOSURE

Face2News/Geneva

Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), the global media safety and rights body, expresses concern over the closure of another radio outlet in Afghanistan by the Taliban rulers. PEC extends its moral support to the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AJC) which strongly condemned the country’s Ministry of Justice’s order to close down Radio Seday-e-Eslah. The Kabul-based radio outlet, which observed its 18th anniversary recently, was framed as an affiliate to the banned Jamiat-e-Eslah (Afghanistan Social Reform and Development Society) outfit.

The management of Radio Seday-e-Eslah (Voice of Reform) denied the allegation stating that it started operating under a private ownership since 2018 and was duly licensed, but the authorities shut down the private radio station on 5 August 2026. Earlier, the AJC termed the incident as an outcome of increasing pressures on independent media outlets by the Afghan rulers. Weeks back, the authorities also banned Rah-e-Farda TV operating from Kabul preceded by another electronic outlet named Tamadon TV.

“Since the Taliban captured Kabul and started ruling Afghanistan five years back, the media fraternity has witnessed difficult days to survive and run their regular duties. A number of Afghan journalists faced physical and mental atrocities for no official reasons except they did only journalism. Many news outlets were already restricted or shut down under factitious rules,” said Blaise Lempen, president of the PEC, adding the Taliban authorities should stop harassing the media professionals urgently and also reconsider the decision of shutting down so that the media outlets can reopen and resume operations.

PEC’s south Asia representative Nava Thakuria added that many Afghan media professionals have left the country to take shelter in foreign lands in recent years. Thakuria cited an example, where a senior Afghan was compelled to leave his country and take unofficial shelter in Pakistan. The said scribe used to work with several Afghan media houses till April 2025. He was even arrested by the Taliban authorities in 2023 and subjected to harassment during detention. Later he escaped from Kabul and started staying in Pakistan, but with the fear of arrest and subsequent deportation to Afghanistan.