KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Television stations in western Badghis province have ceased broadcasting after the Taliban imposed a ban on airing live images, according to the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC). The directive, issued by the Taliban’s Department of Information and Culture, restricts media operations to audio and text formats, marking another blow to press freedom.
In a statement on October 23, the AFJC indicated that the order was communicated to journalists and media executives via WhatsApp. The Taliban justified the ban under their morality law, mandating that news outlets replace live images with inanimate visuals such as signs, buildings, and landscapes.
As a result, the local office of Afghanistan’s National Television and the privately-owned Ubur TV station have been forced to shut down. Other media outlets, including radio stations and independent journalists, have also complied with the directive, fearing further repercussions.
The ban, which also extends to photography and video interviews with Taliban authorities, has already been enforced in two other provinces, Kandahar and Takhar. Similar prohibitions on photography and video recording have already been enforced in provinces such as Kandahar, Helmand, and Maidan Wardak, with plans for gradual rollout in other regions.
These developments are part of a broader Taliban crackdown on media freedom since their return to power in 2021. Under Article 17 of the new morality law, ratified by the group’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, the morality police are tasked with preventing the dissemination of content featuring images of living beings, citing religious and moral grounds.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center condemned the move, describing it as a “high regression” that severely limits the already constrained media landscape in the country. The organization called on Taliban authorities to reconsider the ban and urged them to respect Afghanistan’s media laws, which Taliban restrictions have increasingly overridden.
Since the Taliban’s takeover, the media environment in Afghanistan has dramatically deteriorated. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), journalists face heightened risks, including censorship, arrests, torture, and the forced closure of outlets. Female journalists have been particularly affected, facing additional barriers such as bans on showing their faces and broadcasting their voices.
In a report in March, the Afghanistan Journalist’s Support Organization (AJSO), a German-based Afghan media watchdog, revealed that following the Taliban’s takeover, only 13 out of 91 print newspapers, 68 out of 248 TV channels, and 211 out of 438 radio stations remain operational in the country. The remaining outlets either relocated outside the country or shut down due to Taliban restrictions or financial challenges.
The future of independent journalism in Afghanistan is increasingly uncertain, as the Taliban continues to tighten its grip on the flow of information. Media advocacy groups and the international community have repeatedly urged the Taliban to uphold press freedom.
