The Afghanistan Journalists Center reports that following a directive issued by the local administration of Badghis province prohibiting the broadcasting of live images, all television activities in this province have ceased.
In a statement, the center noted that local authorities from the caretaker government in Badghis issued an order banning the use of live images by media outlets and journalists, limiting media activities to written and audio content.
The statement described this decision as a severely regressive step that restricts media freedom.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center has urged the current government officials to reconsider this decision.
It was further stated that this directive was officially communicated by the Department of Information and Culture in Badghis via messaging apps like WhatsApp to media outlets and journalists.
The center emphasized that the message from the Badghis Department of Information and Culture indicated that media should only use inanimate images, such as buildings and landscapes related to news.
Additionally, the statement mentioned that following this order, the national television under the control of the current government in Badghis has been shut down, and the only private television station in the province has also ceased operations. Other media outlets, including radios and independent journalists, have been compelled to comply with this directive.
It was also noted that photography and video interviews with local officials in Badghis have been prohibited.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center has called for a review of this issue and the lifting of media restrictions imposed over the past three years.
The center stated that media should be able to operate freely and in accordance with the country’s media laws.
This comes as Badghis becomes the third province after Kandahar and Takhar to officially implement such a ban.
The center has reported signs of the enforcement of these restrictions in Helmand, Logar, Wardak, and Daikundi provinces as well.
In August of this year, the caretaker government approved a new law titled “Commanding Good,” which prohibits the broadcasting of live images in its seventeenth article.
