UNAMA: New Taliban media restrictions fuel fear and self-censorship

Farida Thu Jul 2025 4 months ago 276

On Thursday (19 Saratan), UNAMA issued a statement saying that this directive “causes further fear and self-censorship in the media sector, which has already been heavily restricted.”


The UNAMA statement reads: “The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan is deeply concerned about the new media directive issued by the de facto authorities (Taliban), which formalizes existing restrictive measures on political dialogue programs.”


UNAMA further added: “This directive includes prior approval of program content and guests, leading to increased fear and self-censorship in the media sector, which has already been facing numerous restrictions.”


Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, had previously reacted to the Taliban’s new policy banning the broadcast of political programs and roundtables, calling the decision troubling and a sign of intensified censorship and authoritarianism in Afghanistan.


The Taliban have recently banned any critical political discussions in the country’s media through their new media directive. According to this directive, televisions and radios must submit the topics, guests, and perspectives of analysts for approval to the relevant Taliban authorities before broadcasting any political program.


Furthermore, analysts will only be allowed to participate in roundtables if they receive prior approval from the Taliban. The ministry has warned that action will be taken against non-compliant media outlets and emphasized that criticism of the policies of the “Islamic Emirate” is not permitted.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), expressing concern, states that the Taliban’s new media directive formalizes existing restrictive measures on political dialogue, including prior approval of content and experts.

FARIDA AMINI

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