Television stations in Badghis province have stopped operating after the local Taliban administration issued a directive banning the broadcast of live images, the media watchdog the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AfJC) said in a statement on Wednesday.
The restriction has forced media activities in the province to only have written and audio content, the statement said.
The directive was officially communicated to media outlets and journalists via WhatsApp by the Taliban’s Information and Culture Department in Badghis province, according to the statement.
According to the statement, the directive instructed media outlets to use images of inanimate objects, such as buildings or relevant landscapes.
Badghis is the third province, after Kandahar and Takhar, to officially prohibit live images, photographs, and video interviews, the statement said. Journalists in other provinces, such as Helmand, Logar, Maidan Wardak, and Daikundi, have also reported signs of similar restrictions being implemented.
In August, the Taliban issued a new set of rules called the Law of Vice and Virtue, which bans the publication of images of “living beings” in the media.
The media watchdog expressed serious concern over this decision, calling it a significant setback and a restriction on press freedom.
The Afghan Journalists Center has called for a review of this directive and the lifting of media restrictions from the past three years to allow for compliant and free media operations.
