Afghanistan - September 2024

In a new directive from 21 September, the Taliban has banned live broadcasting of political shows in the country. Going forward, the Taliban needs to approve the content and participants and can censor any part of the show before it airs. The Taliban has further sent an expert list consisting of 68 people that are approved to appear on political shows. Participants outside of this list require permission from the Ministry of Information and Culture. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), this decree marks yet another breach in the journalistic freedom and political diversity in Afghanistan, showing that the Taliban is seeking to further control the public sphere through the media and suppress critical voices.   

Sources: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Deutsche Welle (DW), KabulNow