The Taliban has widened its ban on broadcasting images of living beings to media in Badakhshan, Baghlan, and Nimroz, bringing the total to 10 provinces, the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) reported on Thursday.
The restriction stems from a law by the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
The AFJC obtained voice messages from ministry officials in Badakhshan and Baghlan, sent via WhatsApp groups with journalists and Taliban members, ordering local media to comply. Sources told the centre that officials in all three provinces summoned media executives to reinforce the ban and warn of penalties for violations.
In Badakhshan, 10 private radio stations and 2 private TV channels operate, while Baghlan has one TV station and 5 radio stations, and Nimroz has 2 TV channels and 4 radio stations. Taliban-run Radio Television Afghanistan and the Bakhtar News Agency also function in these areas.
Enacted last year, Article 17 of the ministry’s law forbids depicting or sharing images of living beings, empowering officials to enforce it. The ban already applies in 7 other provinces: Kandahar, Takhar, Badghis, Helmand, Nangarhar, Nuristan, and Farah.
The AFJC cautioned that the measure hampers TV news and further restricts radio, a key news source via social media. Press freedom groups have slammed the Taliban’s censorship as a grave attack on media independence and expression.
Over three years, the Taliban has intensified its media crackdown, imposing harsh limits that have shuttered many outlets and driven numerous journalists to flee Afghanistan for safety and work.
