Taliban Officials In Kabul Oppose Ban On Broadcast Of Images Of Living Beings
Informed sources within the Taliban said that officials in Kabul are opposed to a directive from Hibatullah Akhundzada prohibiting the broadcast of images of living beings in the media.
The Interior and Defence Ministers, along with three Deputy Prime Ministers, believe this ban is detrimental to the Taliban's interests.
Under a new law on "Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice," primarily enforced by the Taliban leadership, photographing individuals has been banned.
The law advises relevant authorities to prevent the publication of living beings’ images in media outlets.
According to sources, Taliban’s Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and Defence Minister Yaqoob Mujahid are against this decision. Additionally, three Deputy Prime Ministers—Mullah Baradar, Abdul Salam Hanafi, and Abdul Kabir—also oppose it, viewing the enforcement of media-related provisions as a means to "cripple the promotional apparatus" of the Taliban administration. These officials express concern that some of Akhundzada's decrees could hinder the Taliban's diplomatic efforts.
A source close to the Taliban reported that individuals associated with the Haqqani network, which controls many propaganda centres, oppose the new media restrictions, perceiving them as attempts to isolate their network. Recently, the Haqqani network has initiated the production of a documentary through the Jalal Foundation, focusing on its role in two decades of conflict.
Sources revealed that Mullah Hibatullah is unable to appear in the media due to these restrictions, which has led him to attempt to suppress coverage of the conflict and the activities of other Taliban leaders. The Haqqani network, despite lacking influence in the Taliban's religious circle in Kandahar, is filling the gap with media propaganda.
The Haqqani network reportedly has the financial backing to produce documentaries and investigative reports about its activities, although this runs counter to the prevailing sentiments of the ruling religious faction in Kandahar.
Close associates of the Haqqani network have defended the current need for filming and photography by releasing an old video of the network's founder, Jalaluddin Haqqani, who deemed such practices permissible.
Gradual Closure of National Television
It has been reported that a decision was made to gradually implement the law concerning public order, focusing initially on explaining the religious decree regarding the publication of images in media. However, when negligence regarding this law was observed in Kabul, Mullah Hibatullah ordered its initial enforcement in Afghanistan's national television, provincial channels, and state media.
Despite this directive, most young officials in the Taliban, aside from those in the ministries of higher education, virtue promotion, and a few other institutions managed from Kandahar, have not fully complied. Recently, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the Taliban Minister of Higher Education, allowed reporters at a meeting to record only audio. Meanwhile, Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Nabi Omari, who is closely associated with Sirajuddin Haqqani, reportedly did not respond during the session.
Employees of the Taliban-controlled national television informed Afghanistan International that Qari Yusuf Ahmadi, the head of this network, stated in a management meeting that Mullah Hibatullah plans to shut down national television, transforming it into "Radio Voice of Sharia”.
The Taliban Ministry of Information and Culture is yet to comment on Mullah Hibatullah's directive. However, a source indicated that the leadership of this ministry has also been instructed from Kandahar to gradually halt national television broadcasts.
According to Article 17 of the Taliban's law on "Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice," photographing living beings is prohibited. The Taliban has officially begun efforts to prevent photography, filming, and the activities of visual media across various provinces, believing that such practices, based on the Prophet Mohammad's teachings, constitute a "great sin." This initiative began in Kandahar and has since extended to Takhar, where orders to close local television stations were issued.
The Taliban's Supreme Court announced the execution of a flogging sentence for a woman and a man in Kharwar district of Logar province.
According to the statement, these individuals were punished with 35 and 39 lashes in public for extramarital affairs. The individuals were also sentenced to four months in prison.
A statement issued by the Taliban's Supreme Court on Monday, October 21, said that the sentence was carried out after the group's Supreme Court approved it in the presence of judicial officials, Taliban officials, and the public.
On Sunday, the Taliban also announced the execution of a flogging sentence for a woman and a man in Takhar on charges of extramarital affairs. In the past week alone, the group has flogged more than 36 people in Khost, Kunar, Laghman, Takhar and Kabul provinces on various charges.
Human rights organisation Halvash once again reported the explosion of a mine and the shooting of Afghan migrants by Iranian border guards in Kalgan Saravan.
According to the report, a number of migrants were killed, injured and disappeared from a group of 150 people as a result of the explosion of mines and then, the shooting by Iranian border guards.
Halvash, which covers Sistan and Baluchestan news, quoted local sources as saying that the incident took place on Thursday evening, October 17, when a group of 150 Afghan migrants were trying to cross the Iran-Afghanistan border "illegally".
Halvash said that they were looking for more detailed information about the event.
Officials of the Islamic Republic have not yet commented on this matter.
In the past week, this is the second report of border guards shooting at Afghan migrants on the Iran-Afghanistan border.
On Tuesday, October 15, Iranian border forces opened fire on a group of 300 Afghan migrants who were trying to enter Iran in the Kalgan Saravan area. According to the report, the incident left "dozens" dead and wounded.
Iran's ambassador to Kabul and the commander of Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan border guard denied the previous incident of shooting and killing migrants. In a statement, the Taliban said that it had appointed a high-level panel to investigate reports of shooting at Afghan refugees. So far, the results of the board's investigation have not been published after a few days.
The 15th Sama Film Festival was held in Stockholm, Sweden, with the participation of directors from Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan and some other countries.
A number of short films by Afghan directors won awards at the festival.
The festival, which was held in the Swedish capital on October 19 and 20, showcased the best short film, feature film, best documentary, and best animated film by various directors.
In this festival, a film directed by Kazem Ajram was announced as the winner of the best short film category. Other awards at the festival included- Best Fiction film by Ahmad Ebrahimi, Best Documentary by Naved Mahmoudi, and Best Film by Shoaib Sharifi in collaboration with Phil Grabsky.
As part of the festival, an Afghan girl held a painting exhibition calling for justice for gender equality in Afghanistan.
Afghan singer Wajiha Rastagar also performed her new song at the festival and dedicated it to Afghan protesting girls.
The National Resistance Front (NRF) said on Sunday that one Taliban member was killed and two others were wounded in an attack by its fighters in Kapisa.
According to the front, the attack took place in the village of Mughal Baik Khel in Kapisa province.
So far, the Taliban has not commented on the incident.
The National Resistance Front said that the Taliban's weapons were also seized by its forces and a Taliban military vehicle was destroyed in the attack.
This is the second attack by this front against the Taliban in the past three days. On Sunday, the NRF said that it attacked a Taliban base in Takhar on Friday, October 18.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) announced on Sunday evening, October 20, that it had attacked the military section of the Kabul Airport from several directions.
This front wrote in a statement that this operation started with the launch of several rockets and inflicted heavy casualties on the Taliban.
This front has not provided statistics on the number of casualties.
The statement said that the attack first began with the firing of several missiles at specific targets, and after inflicting casualties and creating panic in the enemy's ranks, the infantry section of the Afghanistan Freedom Front took action.
AFF said that the operation lasted ten minutes and its forces left the area after the operation was successful.
According to the details published by this front, the Taliban had taken strict security measures in the last two days and were busy repairing worn-out war planes.
AFF, however, said that in addition to causing severe casualties to the Taliban, they also disrupted the repair programme of warplanes during the attack on the Kabul airport.
On Sunday night, local sources contacted Afghanistan International and reported the occurrence of two powerful explosions in the vicinity of Kabul Airport. Sources said that the explosions occurred around 8 pm on Sunday.
