By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi May 25, 2026 Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities have closed down three local radio stations in the latest move in an ongoing crackdown that has seen the country’s media landscape decimated since the militant group seized power for a second time in 2021. The radio stations — Tahsin al-Quran, Sanga, and Zama Ziwer
Khaama: Local sources in Bamyan say Taliban authorities shut down the Baran Health Sciences Institute, detained several staff members and sealed the institute for a second time. Sources said one of the institute’s founders, administrative officials and several teachers were detained during the raid earlier this week. Some staff members were later released, but the
Amu: Sweeping cuts to US foreign aid in 2025 severely weakened Afghan media organizations operating in exile, forcing some outlets to scale back reporting networks inside Afghanistan, lay off journalists and cancel programs focused on women and human rights, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch said Taliban have cracked
Afghanistan International: According to the officials, participants at the meeting were informed that, on the orders of Mullah Abdul Ahad Fazli, public access to the internet would be further restricted and residential fibre-optic internet services disconnected. One company official said the move could have serious economic consequences. “If this order is implemented, not only will
Amu: Afghanistan ranked 175th out of 180 countries in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index, maintaining one of the lowest positions globally as press freedoms remain severely restricted under Taliban rule, according to Reporters Without Borders. Within Afghanistan, access to independent information is increasingly restricted, with many people relying on foreign or exile-based media when
8am: Several journalists working under Taliban rule have expressed concern over the intensifying crackdown on the media and the complete restriction of access to information. According to them, no media outlet under Taliban control can publish the existing realities and can only disseminate content that the Taliban permit. They emphasize that journalists in Afghanistan cannot
Amu: Taliban have revoked the operating licences of an unspecified number of organizations that support media and journalists, while extending the licences of three others, according to a statement from the Taliban-run Ministry of Information and Culture. The ministry said the decision followed a review of “repeated complaints” of media outlets and journalists against “media
Afghanistan International: The Taliban have expanded a ban on publishing and broadcasting images of living beings to 24 provinces across Afghanistan, further tightening restrictions on media and freedom of expression, the Afghanistan Journalists Center said. In a statement issued on Thursday, January 8, the Afghanistan Journalists Center said the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of
8am: Sources from the Afghanistan Analysts Network say that important subjects such as human rights, democracy, electoral systems, constitutional law, sociology, and ethics philosophy are no longer being taught, and many books written by women or Iranian authors are also on the banned list. Additionally, books about Afghanistan’s contemporary history, the Taliban, Afghanistan-Pakistan relations, and
Afghanistan International: As the world marks World Television Day on, the Taliban’s leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, continues efforts to curb visual media in Afghanistan. Television broadcasting in Afghanistan began in 1978 with the establishment of National Radio and Television under the Soviet-backed government, an institution now fully controlled by the Taliban. Over the past four years,