Coinciding with the ban on the publication of images of living creatures in some provinces, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that this decision will not lead to the suspension of media activities.
Sources quoted Mujahid as telling Afghanistan International, "The Taliban has no decision to stop the activities of the media."
Following growing concerns over the implementation of Article 17 of the Law on the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, officials of organisations supporting journalists and media met with Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in Kabul on Wednesday.
A participant in the meeting told Afghanistan International on Wednesday that media officials had expressed concern over the ban on the publication of images of living beings and photography and called for a review of the decision.
According to sources, Zabihullah Mujahid has assured media officials and journalists that "banning images of living beings will not lead to the cessation of the activity of visual media”.
He did not explain how the ban would not make it virtually impossible for television to operate and that television would not be converted into radio.
The Taliban-controlled government's Media Centre also said in a statement that Mujahid had assured media officials that "the Taliban is committed to freedom of expression and the free operation of the media within the framework of Islam”.
Zabihullah Mujahid also said that the Taliban is aware of the importance of the media in the present era and is fully committed to freedom of expression and media activity within the framework of Islamic principles.
The Taliban have detained several experts critical of the Taliban's policies. The group has often described these criticisms as contrary to national interests.
Mujahid said that the problems of the media in the field of access to information will be addressed.
At the same time, the Afghanistan Journalists Centre announced a new Taliban order banning photography and filming in Nangarhar province and warned of "intensifying repression" and "deteriorating the situation of the media”.
According to Article 17 of the Law on the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, the publication of images of living beings has been prohibited, and the Taliban has intensified its efforts to implement this law.
The ban is gradually being implemented in Afghanistan's provinces, but visual media is still active in Kabul.
Nangarhar is the fifth province where a ban on publication of living beings and video interviews is officially enforced. Previously, the order was fully implemented in Kandahar, Takhar, Badghis and Helmand provinces.
