KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Taliban authorities closed Radio Khushal, a private radio station in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province, after it aired phone calls from girls participating in an educational program, the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) said on Thursday.
In a statement, the media watchdog said the shutdown occurred on Wednesday, with the Taliban’s provincial press office stating that the Provincial Cultural Committee had ordered the closure for alleged “violations of religious, cultural, and social values,” without providing further details.
Radio Khushal, established in 2024 in Ghazni city, primarily broadcast educational content aimed at women and girls, who face severe restrictions on education under Taliban rule, including bans on secondary and higher education.
The AFJC said Taliban authorities have prohibited girls from contacting media outlets by phone in many provinces, with some areas issuing directives banning the broadcast of women’s voices entirely.
The watchdog noted that two former managers of Radio Khushal had previously been detained over their writings and expressions related to Taliban policies and social conditions.
The AFJC condemned the closure as a severe blow to press freedom and a violation of journalists’ and the public’s right to diverse information. It urged the Taliban to reverse the decision, reopen the station, and ensure staff safety and independence.
It also called on the international community to hold Taliban authorities accountable and support media freedom and human rights in Afghanistan.
The move follows other recent restrictions on private media. Last Saturday, Taliban officials suspended Rah-e-Farda Radio and Television in Kabul and seized its assets over remarks by its exiled owner about Taliban-Pakistan tensions. In September 2025, Shamshad TV was temporarily shut down over coverage issues before resuming under Taliban guidelines.
Since regaining power in 2021, the Taliban have issued over 20 directives curbing independent media, including a 2024 morality law banning images of living beings deemed un-Islamic, forcing many TV stations to shift to radio-only or close.
Dozens of outlets have been shuttered or silenced, and hundreds of journalists have fled the country. The AFJC’s 2025 annual report recorded 205 cases of violence and media freedom violations, including two journalist killings, three injuries, and 34 arrests, a nearly 13% rise from the prior year.
