Two Afghan television channels have been taken off the airwaves for “violations against Islamic and national values”, a Taliban government spokesman said Thursday.
Rights monitors warn Taliban authorities have been cracking down on media freedoms since their return to power in 2021.
Ministry of Information and Culture spokesman Khubaib Ghufran said the “Barya” and “Noor” TV channels had been suspended on Tuesday for failing to abide by “journalistic principles”.
“They had programmes creating confusion among the public and their owners are abroad,” he told AFP. “The media violation commission suspended their operations.”
He said “their owners have even taken stands as opponents” of the Taliban government and “until their owners come here, and answer the questions posed to them, their operations will be suspended”.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) said in a statement Afghanistan’s media commission had repeatedly warned “Barya” for airing remarks by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a once-powerful warlord and former prime minister, about the Taliban government.
“Noor” had received warnings because it broadcast music and the uncovered faces of female presenters, the AFJC said.
The “Barya” channel is owned by Hekmatyar’s son Habiburrahman Hekmatyar.
