Taliban halts Radio Naseem broadcasts.
After 13 years of operation in Daikundi and Bamyan provinces, Radio Naseem has stopped broadcasting following pressure and the arrest of its staff by Taliban intelligence.
The halt came five days after the Taliban arrested the media outlet’s director and two journalists on charges of covering a UN report on the activities of ISIS and the armed opposition.
Local sources say that the release of these journalists was conditional on the complete shutdown of the radio. During this crackdown, some radio recording and journalism equipment was even seized on the strange charge of “laughing” and taken around the city for humiliation.
This action is a clear example of psychological pressure and a warning message to other media outlets.
For four years, the Taliban have severely restricted the media space in Afghanistan through arbitrary arrests, severe censorship, and the imposition of heavy restrictions.
Since the fall of Kabul, freedom of expression has been on the decline, and journalists have resorted to widespread self-censorship due to fear of arrest and torture.
The shutdown of Radio Naseem is not just the end of a local media outlet; it is also a sign of the complete suffocation of the free information space in Taliban-controlled areas, where even “laughing” can be considered a crime and silence is the only option left for journalists.
