RASC News Agency: Following Saad Mohseni’s recent appeal for global engagement with the Taliban, Afghanistani journalists in exile have demanded that the owner of Tolo TV and the Moby Group immediately cease lobbying for the group. In a statement released on Monday, December 2, Afghanistani journalists based in Europe and North America accused Mohseni of pursuing dialogue with the Taliban to advance his personal interests rather than the well-being of Afghanistan.
In a recent interview with an Australian media outlet, Mohseni asserted that the international community must engage constructively with the Taliban to prevent Afghanistan from devolving into “another North Korea.” He suggested that such engagement could potentially lead to the restoration of some lost rights for Afghanistani women. Furthermore, Mohseni admitted to making repeated efforts to persuade U.S. officials to initiate talks with the Taliban. The journalists’ collective condemned Mohseni’s actions as opportunistic and urged him to retract his statements. They emphasized that his lobbying disregards the sacrifices of Afghanistan media professionals who have endured severe repression under the Taliban regime.
Mohseni’s advocacy for Taliban engagement comes amidst the group’s systematic crackdown on Afghanistan’s media landscape, particularly visual media. The Taliban has pushed television networks toward closure, citing restrictions against broadcasting images of living beings, effectively stifling freedom of expression in the country. This stance is particularly controversial given the Taliban’s violent history with Tolo TV. During the previous republic era, the group specifically targeted and assassinated several Tolo staff members, further cementing their reputation as a grave threat to press freedom and journalistic integrity.
Afghanistani journalists in exile reiterated their call for Mohseni to halt his lobbying activities. They demanded that he realign his actions with the ethical principles of free and independent journalism, rather than enabling a regime that has systematically dismantled media freedoms and violated human rights.
