Taliban Further Tightens Control Over Afghan Media

Recently, Taliban officials in Herat instructed local media to serve as a propaganda arm for the Ministry for Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Hasht-e-Subh Daily revealed in an article published on Wednesday.

It noted that the Taliban prohibited discussion of security issues and topics that could threaten the group’s interests.

Zia-ul-Haq Haqmal, head of the Taliban-controlled Bakhtar News Agency, emphasized that promoting virtue is a duty of domestic media. He criticized Afghan media operating abroad as “Western” and accused them of spreading division. Rahmatullah Naraiwal, head of the Access to Information Department, reiterated that media must align with Taliban laws and avoid content contradicting Islamic Sharia principles.

Journalists have expressed concerns that these directives aim to transform independent outlets into Taliban mouthpieces, describing the Taliban’s new directives in the western region as “digging a grave” for the media.