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
By Mustafa Sarwar and RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi January 17, 2026 Since the withdrawal of international forces and the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, Afghanistan’s once-diverse media landscape has collapsed under a lack of funding and restrictions — and Chinese state media is looking to fill the void. Hundreds of outlets have shut down,
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
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,
Amu: Taliban have effectively dismantled media freedom in Afghanistan since seizing power in August 2021, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Thursday, citing systematic surveillance, censorship, arbitrary detentions and torture of journalists, with women in the media bearing the brunt of the crackdown. The 2025 report, based on dozens of interviews with journalists
Afghanistan International: Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada attempted to block the use of smartphones in Afghanistan before ordering the shutdown of wireless internet, sources told Afghanistan International. According to the sources, about a year ago in Kandahar, Akhundzada asked the Taliban’s council of clerics to find a “religious justification” for banning smartphones. The aim, they
Amu: Internet services provided by Afghan Telecom, the state-owned operator, were cut in Kandahar province on Tuesday afternoon, local sources told Amu TV. The disruption comes days after Afghan Telecom’s fiber-optic services were shut down in Balkh province in northern Afghanistan. Taliban officials there confirmed the blackout, saying it was ordered by the Taliban’s supreme
Amu: The Taliban’s provincial police chief in Kunar has threatened local journalists, warning them not to report on complaints from survivors of a recent earthquake, according to several people familiar with the matter. Zia-ul-Haq Hamed, the Taliban’s police commander in Kunar, told reporters in a meeting that they must avoid publishing stories that present what
Afghanistan International: The Taliban has detained the editor-in-chief of Tawana news agency on charges of receiving foreign funding and publishing material critical of the regime, according to statement by the group’s Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. The Taliban alleges that the editor accepted financial support from the United Nations Assistance Mission
8am: Some journalists working in media outlets controlled by the Taliban have complained about discriminatory treatment toward the Persian language. They state that some media managers, driven by a desire to curry favor with the Taliban and linguistic biases, have used the group’s name to justify efforts to eliminate Persian words. These journalists highlight instances