Taliban administration in Faryab asks media to promote leader’s decrees

As part of its continuing pressure on the media, the Taliban administration in Faryab has asked journalists and press officials at a seminar in the province to introduce the decrees of its leader and what it described as its “achievements” to the public and the world — a request made amid sweeping restrictions on freedom of expression and access to information.

Bakhtar News Agency, a media outlet controlled by the Taliban administration, reported on Monday, 23 September, that the Publication Affairs Department of the Ministry of Information and Culture held a one-day seminar titled “Enhancing Intellectual, Ideological and Professional Capacity” for hundreds of journalists, press officials and young people in Faryab.

According to the report, Mohajer Farahi, the deputy minister for publications at the Ministry of Information and Culture of the Taliban administration, spoke at the meeting about the responsibilities of the media and the importance of cooperation between government departments and the media. He said the media have a duty to present the decrees of the Taliban leader and the administration’s claims about its achievements to the public and the world.

Farahi also called on officials and spokespersons of government departments to cooperate with the media and make information accessible to them. The seminar also stressed adherence to journalistic principles and ensuring the accuracy of news before publication.

These remarks come as media outlets and journalists in Afghanistan have faced sweeping restrictions since the Taliban returned to power. The Afghanistan Journalists Support Organization (AMSO) had earlier said that freedom of expression, access to information and the safety of journalists in Afghanistan had faced further restrictions over the past month.

Faryab is one of the provinces in northern Afghanistan, and its capital is the city of Maimana. In recent years, the Taliban administration’s Ministry of Information and Culture has been one of the main bodies responsible for dealing with the media and issuing policies related to journalistic activity.