KABUL — Radio Nasim, a local broadcaster serving Daikundi and Bamiyan provinces, announced on Monday that it will cease operations after 13 years following the detention of its director and journalists by Taliban intelligence in Daikundi.
The station, in a somber Facebook post, said, “We were the voice of hope, love, awareness, and life… But today, with hearts full of sorrow, we must say: we can no longer continue.”
It added that the suspension of its broadcasts does not mark an end to their passion for journalism but reflects a time too harsh to let voices endure. Radio Nasim pledged to resume its work should conditions improve.
Last Wednesday, Taliban intelligence detained Sultan Ali Jawadi, the station’s director, along with journalists Saifullah Rezai and Mujtaba Qasemi, the latest in a series of arrests targeting the outlet.
A day later, owner Reza Wahidi confirmed to KabulNow the halt of Radio Nasim’s broadcasts.
Jawadi, previously sentenced to one year in prison, had been released earlier this year via a Taliban leader’s pardon on Eid al-Fitr.
Radio Nasim was among the few local media outlets covering political, social, and cultural topics in central Afghanistan.
Its closure highlights the mounting pressure on press freedom under the Taliban, particularly in regional areas.
Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban’s restrictions on the media have intensified dramatically. A UNAMA report documents 256 cases of arbitrary arrests and detentions of journalists, while the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) recorded 366 violations of media freedom between August 2021 and August 2023, including violence, arrests, threats, and hospitalizations.
In the year ending March 2025 alone, AFJC documented 181 violations, encompassing 131 threats, 50 arrests, and the permanent closure of multiple media outlets, representing a 24% increase compared to the previous year.
