KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Taliban has ordered the suspension of broadcasts from the state-run “National Television” in Kandahar, due to the airing of “living beings images,” according to sources who spoke with Amu.
The decision has come directly from Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader, local sources said.
Sources also noted that some of the station’s technical staff have been reassigned to Kabul.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center criticized the Taliban’s move, describing it as a “serious setback” for the country’s visual media landscape. In a statement, the organization urged the Taliban to reconsider its decision.
“The order to halt broadcasts in Kandahar was verbally communicated to the station’s employees on August 14, just before the anniversary of the republic’s fall and the Taliban’s return to power,” the Journalists Center stated. “However, this order has only recently become public following the reassignment of local staff to the central office in Kabul.”
The center added that broadcasting in Kandahar had already been significantly restricted due to various media policies, particularly a directive issued last year by Mullah Shirin Akhund, the Taliban’s governor in Kandahar, which banned photography and filming at both official and unofficial events.
According to the Journalists Center, the recent order to halt broadcasts is an extension of these restrictive measures.
The organization also warned that while local broadcasts in Kandahar have been suspended, programming from the central station in Kabul continues to be rebroadcast in the province, raising concerns that this too could be halted.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center condemned the Taliban’s actions as a violation of the country’s media laws, noting that state-run television under Taliban control lacks “the freedom to operate and fairly cover events” both in Kabul and the provinces.
The center called on the Taliban, particularly local officials in Kandahar, to reverse other restrictive orders against the media.
