Afghanistan Peace CampaignAfter three years into the re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate’s rule in the country, the media law and other related media regulations have yet to be ratified.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has released a report detailing the state of the media in the country over the past three years.
The report, which covers four main sections: access to information, media closures, restrictions, and the status of women in media, highlights that the lack of clear procedures and the use of arbitrary arrests and detentions have had a negative impact on freedom of expression.
“The report, titled Media Freedom in Afghanistan, covers the period from 15 August 2021 to 30 September 2024. During this period, it documented instances of human rights violations affecting 336 journalists and media workers – including 256 instances of arbitrary arrest and detention, 130 instances of torture and ill-treatment, and 75 instances of threats or intimidation,” UMAMA said.
Zabihullah Sharifi, a journalist, said: “Access to information is crucial for journalists in order to provide accurate reporting. The demand from journalists and the media community is for the government to provide the necessary facilities and not impose any restrictions in this regard.”
The UNAMA report further said that before August 2021, 543 media outlets with over 10,000 employees were operating in Afghanistan. However, by November 2021, about 43% of these outlets ceased operations, and the number of media employees decreased to 4,360, with 84% of female media workers losing their jobs.
In response, the Ministry of Information and Culture has rejected the report, saying that it has made considerable efforts to ensure access to information. The ministry also claimed that no journalist has been detained for media-related activities in the past three years.
Khabib Ghafran, spokesperson for the Ministry of Information and Culture, said: “These reports attempt to associate incidents unrelated to journalism or issues related to security with the work of journalists. However, this is not the case, and no journalist has been detained as a journalist.”
It should be noted that more than three years into the re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate’s rule in the country, the media law and other related media regulations have yet to be ratified.