RASC News Agency: Taliban officials in Kandahar have directed media leaders and journalists to align their reporting with the Taliban’s interests. According to the Taliban media center in Kandahar, Mr. Enqelabi, in a meeting today Saturday, November 2, with media officials and journalists, asserted that the world has launched a “propaganda war” against the Taliban.
Mr. Enqelabi equated journalists to Afghanistan’s “defensive forces,” emphasizing their role in supporting the group’s narrative. Previously, the Taliban’s Department of Information and Culture in various provinces held joint meetings with local media leaders and journalist advocacy groups, urging media outlets to shape their content in accordance with Taliban directives.
In its latest quarterly report covering July to September, the United Nations disclosed that the Taliban imposed two new media restrictions during this period: limiting the participation of religious scholars in public debates and suspending live broadcasts of political programs. Since reclaiming power, the Taliban have implemented extensive restrictions on the press, resulting in the complete loss of independent media in Afghanistan, where all media outlets are now functionally government-controlled.
Critically, no outlet is permitted to publish negative coverage of the Taliban, even if it concerns factual or significant political or security events within the country.
