ASADABAD (Pajhwok): Some journalists in eastern Kunar province on Sunday claimed officials denied them information despite approval of the access to information law.
Radio Liberty reporter Roohullah Anwari told Pajhwok Afghan News security and civil officials did not cooperate with journalists when they sought information on different issues of public interest.
The president has already endorsed the law on access to information, granting every Afghan citizen the right to get important information from the officials concerned.
Anwari said local officials insisted they had been directed by the higher-ups in Kabul not to share information with the media. “This has landed journalists in trouble,” he remarked.
Khyber Dagar, a reporter with Bayan Radio in Kunar, said it was government’s responsibility to facilitate journalists in performing their duty in accordance with the country’s laws.
But sources close to the Presidential Palace said officials in provinces had been barred from sharing information with journalists.
Ministry of Interior (MoI) spokesman Sediq Seddiqi said media sections in provincial police headquarters could share information with the media. However, he said police headquarters in provinces had no spokesman and only media sections could do this job.
He said the MoI wanted to regulate the release of information to media to ensure that journalists obtained credible information. In the past there were several channels claiming to be speaking on behalf of the MoI, he said.
Seddiq said the government was committed to ensuring that media had access to information under the relevant law.
Earlier, officials in several provinces had said they had been directed by the Ministry of Interior not to share information with media outlets.
The government’s stance has angered journalists. The Afghanistan Independent Journalist Association (AIJA) in a statement said the National Security Council had prohibited provincial officials from sharing information with the media. It added the Ministry of Interior had been directed to issue information to the media on security issues in future.
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