The Taliban has dismissed at least 300 employees from Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), including 91 women, as part of a nationwide cost-cutting initiative aimed at reducing government spending.
Sources within RTA told Afghanistan International on Tuesday that the layoffs affected long-serving journalists, editors, and technical staff—some of whom had worked at the broadcaster for two to four decades. In addition to being dismissed, their employee identification cards were reportedly confiscated by Taliban officials.
Those affected also reported that they have not received their salaries for the past two months, a problem that extends beyond RTA. Teachers and other civil servants across Afghanistan have similarly gone unpaid for several weeks.
The dismissals follow a directive from Taliban supreme leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, mandating a 20 percent reduction in the workforce across all government institutions. Sources indicate the decision stems from severe budget shortfalls and the ongoing suspension of international aid.
The Taliban has also announced plans to restructure and downsize numerous government bodies, including its own security institutions. According to internal documents, the Ministry of Education alone is expected to lay off at least 90,000 employees.
In earlier rounds of cuts, the Taliban’s Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock terminated 31 employees from its provincial directorate in Parwan. More than 90 female staff have also been dismissed from state-run kindergartens.
