RASC News Agency: Local sources in Kunar province report that Neda Mohammad Nadim, the Taliban’s Minister of Higher Education, banned journalists from filming during his recent visit to the region. On Monday, November 4, sources revealed that Nadim held a meeting with students and administrators at Syed Jamaluddin University in Kunar.
According to sources, the minister expelled journalists who arrived to record visual coverage of the event, permitting only audio journalists to report on the proceedings. This restriction aligns with Nadim’s previous actions, as he has repeatedly barred visual media access on similar occasions. Filming and photography have now been increasingly restricted in various Taliban-controlled institutions across multiple provinces.
The Taliban’s stance, grounded in their interpretation of religious doctrine, asserts that capturing and sharing images of living beings is “contrary to Islamic law” and, therefore, impermissible. They have indicated intentions to gradually outlaw the visual documentation of living creatures throughout Afghanistan. During their previous, illegitimate rule over the country, the Taliban similarly suppressed media and even prohibited newspaper publication. Yet, when Afghanistani leaders and intelligence lobbyists handed Afghanistan over to the Taliban, they reassured the public and regional stakeholders that the Taliban had reformed and would be different from their past rule.
Now, three years into the Taliban’s authoritarian governance marked by ethnic, gender-based, and religious repression Afghanistanis find their liberties further diminished under increasingly regressive policies.
