KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban officials, including Hayatullah Muhajir, their deputy minister of information and culture, and Safiullah Raed, Taliban’s head of media oversight, met with executives from media outlets in Kabul on Wednesday amid growing restrictions on press freedom.
The meeting comes just days after Taliban banned the broadcast of political talk shows on local media.
According to a statement from the Taliban-run Ministry of Information and Culture, the meeting was part of the Media Violations Review Commission’s regular sessions. It also included a report from a Taliban committee tasked with standardizing national and Islamic terminology to reinforce what they describe as Afghanistan’s “national and Islamic identity.”
The statement provided few details about the discussion but noted that participants addressed broadcasting issues faced by Radio Television Jahan and a local media outlet in Ghor province, along with several other topics.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) reported last week that the Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture had verbally instructed multiple TV networks in Kabul to halt programming that could challenge Taliban policies. Journalists were warned to comply with the directive.
According to AFJC, the new restrictions extend beyond political coverage, affecting economic discussions and forcing private media outlets to adhere to Taliban-approved narratives.
Several television executives told AFJC that under the new guidelines, they are only permitted to interview official Taliban spokespersons if needed.
The AFJC also stated that the Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture is expected to issue further decisions on implementing the ban by Monday.
