The Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture said Monday it has revoked the operating licences of nearly all media support organisations in Afghanistan, renewing permits for only three groups.
In a statement dated January 26, the ministry claimed that organisations whose licences were withdrawn had created “more problems” instead of addressing the challenges faced by journalists and media outlets, and had harmed the credibility of Afghanistan’s media institutions internationally.
The ministry did not name the three organisations whose licences were extended. It also did not identify the groups whose licences were revoked, but said some of them had been inactive.
Officials said the move to limit licences to three organisations was intended to “prevent abuse carried out in the name of journalists and media outlets.”
