RASC News Agency: Local sources in Takhar report that Taliban authorities, in a recent meeting with journalists and media leaders, issued a decree prohibiting all forms of photography and video production in the province. The officials emphasized that all visual media outlets must convert to radio broadcasts. This directive is part of the Taliban’s new “Amr bil Maroof wa Nahi an al-Munkar” (Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice) regulations, which were recently enacted, declaring that capturing images or videos of living beings is forbidden.
The meeting, which took place on Sunday, 22nd of Mehr, included key officials from the intelligence services and virtue enforcement departments in the office of the Taliban’s Information and Culture Authority in Takhar. During this meeting, representatives from visual media highlighted the necessity of producing and airing visual programs, but the Taliban officials remained firm in their insistence that television stations either convert to radio or halt operations entirely.
Barakatullah Barakat, the head of Taliban’s Press Intelligence Office, issued a stark warning that any failure to comply with this directive would result in severe penalties. He emphasized that all available measures would be used to ensure adherence to the Taliban leader’s orders. Additionally, the Taliban announced plans to circulate notices throughout Taloqan and other districts of Takhar, instructing citizens to stop using smartphones.
This is not the first instance of such actions; approximately two weeks prior, the Taliban had already informed journalists and visual media outlets in Takhar that filming and photography would no longer be permitted. Earlier, the Taliban had also suspended the broadcasts of certain local TV stations, particularly in Kandahar, compelling media outlets to switch from visual to audio formats. In previous instances, the Taliban had also restricted the broadcast of women’s voices in Kandahar and other southern provinces.
These developments mark a continued and harsh restriction on media freedom in Afghanistan, as the Taliban tighten their control over the flow of information and severely limit the public’s access to visual content across the nation.
