KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban have extended their ban on broadcasting images of living beings to Faryab Province, local sources told Amu on Tuesday.
According to the sources, the decision was announced during a meeting on Tuesday, April 29, led by provincial officials after a review of Article 17 of the Taliban’s “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” law. Officials reportedly instructed local media outlets to cease publishing or broadcasting images of living creatures.
Amu’s findings show that in at least 17 provinces, the Taliban-run National Television has limited broadcasts to audio reports only. Local sources also reported that private television channels in these provinces have been barred from airing visual images.
The prohibition stems from a law signed by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada in September 2024, which explicitly bans the broadcast of images depicting living beings. The law, implemented by Khalid Hanafi, the Taliban’s acting Minister for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, has already been enforced in provinces largely under the influence of Taliban leadership.
Independent monitoring by Amu found that National Television in provinces such as Kandahar, Takhar, Badghis, Helmand, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Farah, Nimroz, Baghlan, Badakhshan, Jawzjan, Zabul, Parwan, Kunduz, Panjshir, Bamyan, and most recently Faryab, has restricted its content to audio broadcasts.
The timeline for the enforcement of the ban in various provinces is as follows:
• Kandahar: September 4, 2024
• Takhar: October 14, 2024
• Badghis: October 23, 2024
• Helmand: October 25, 2024
• Nangarhar: November 12, 2024
• Nuristan: January 6, 2025
• Farah: March 6, 2025
• Nimroz: March 27, 2025
• Baghlan: March 27, 2025
• Badakhshan: April 9, 2025
• Parwan: April 10, 2025
• Jawzjan: April 10, 2025
• Zabul: April 10, 2025
• Kunduz: April 16, 2025
• Panjshir: April 17, 2025
• Bamyan: April 21, 2025
• Faryab: April 29, 2025
According to Taliban-controlled media, the enforcement of the ban has sharply accelerated over the past month, with restrictions newly imposed in eight provinces during that period.
