KABUL – After the Taliban’s recent announcement banning the publication of images of living beings in the media, at least two television channels in Afghanistan broadcast audio-only content today, according to reports.
According to a local journalist from the Afghan province of Takhar, who spoke on condition of anonymity, a TV channel named Mahi Nau aired only audio broadcasts, displaying its logo on the screen.
The journalist added that a state-run broadcaster followed a similar approach, even though it typically aired tourism programs in the evening rather than news.
During the broadcasts on both channels, viewers only saw the TV station’s logo on screen while listening to the news.
Another reporter revealed that the Taliban ordered all regional television stations in Takhar to limit themselves to radio-style reports without visuals, warning of legal consequences if this directive is violated.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice announced yesterday that creating and publishing images of living beings is un-Islamic, and under Article 17 of the new law, the media is now restricted from doing so.
Saif-ul-Islam Khyber, a spokesperson for the ministry, stated that this law would be enforced throughout Afghanistan. However, the implementation will focus on persuasion rather than force.
Prior to this recent announcement, such restrictions were already in place in Kandahar, where the Taliban’s leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, is believed to reside. Taliban officials there were prohibited from taking images and videos of living beings, although this restriction had not yet been imposed on the news media.
During the Taliban’s first regime from 1996 to 2001, television and images of living beings were also banned across the country.
