The Deputy PM for Political Affairs, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, said that the Islamic Emirate is committed to the freedom of speech in accordance with Islamic rules.
The Deputy PM for Political Affairs in a meeting with private media representatives also considered the activity and presence of media in the country important.
“The Islamic Emirate supports media and the media is provided with a wide working area in accordance with islamic rules, and there are no restrictions on them except religious restrictions,” Mohammad Hassan Haqyar, head of the media directorate of the political deputy PM, told TOLOnews.
Meanwhile, some journalists and media-supporting organizations, besides the request for the approval of the mass media law, asked the Islamic Emirate to address the economic issues of the media.
“The Islamic Emirate must make the destiny of the mass media law and access to the information clear, and without this law the media will face several problems,” said Masroor Lutfi, a member of the Afghanistan National Journalists Union (ANJU).
“I want the government to take care of the media and journalists, so they can continue their work in a good manner,” said Fawad Nazari, a journalist.
But the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, Zabihullah Mujahid, said that the media law is processed and is being approved.
“Work on the media law continues and is being approved, it should have already been approved but Amirul Momineen (Islamic Emirate’s leader) has too much work, that’s why it took much time,” Zabihullah Mujahid added.
This comes as the Ministry of Information and Culture has said that nearly 30 media organizations have been established since the Islamic Emirate came to power.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center expressed concern about media rights violations in Afghanistan and said that in 2023 it recorded 168 cases of violations of journalists’ rights in the country.
The report stated that one journalist died, 19 journalists were injured, there were 78 cases of threats and 61 cases of arrests of journalists recorded.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center stated that “in 2023, the recorded cases of violation of the rights of journalists and the media show a significant decrease compared to the 260 events recorded in 2022, but there is no change in terms of quality and structure.”
This comes as journalists and media workers also urged the interim government to take solid steps to eliminate the existing challenges.
“All of the activities belonging to the media and journalists should be pursued through the commission of media violation and this commission should be incentivized and any media and journalist who commit a violation, should be investigated through this commission,” said Rasul Shahzad, a journalist.
“The government should increase access to information. The economy of the media organizations should be empowered and supported,” said Mustafa Sharyar, a journalist.
The Islamic Emirate in reaction to the AJC’s report said that the detention of the journalists has not been due to their media related activities.—Tolonews
