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Govt launches month-long info sharing campaign

KABUL (Pajhwok): After complaints against access to information by media, the Afghan government on Thursday launched a month-long campaign of sharing information with people through a presidential order.

President’s advisor in strategic and public relations, Wahid Omar told a press conference here that the campaign would start from February 16 and would continue for a month.

He said government officials would share information about their departments’ annual achievements and problems they faced over a year with people via media outlets.

He said protesting media outlets had shared a list of 45 subjects, about the which the government should provide information.

H said government departments had worked on some of these subjects and others were under the process for providing information about them to the public.

Omar added that the cabinet had also discussed complaints raised by the media and President Ashraf Ghani had directed all organs not to commit negligence in sharing information with people through media.

“We believe that the government and media should not confront each other, but both should work in the same line for the defense of the Afghan people and the country’s values,” he said.

He said freedom of speech was an achievement of the government and all people of Afghanistan and the government would not let anyone impose restrictions on it.

The government’s statements come after many Afghan media outlets in a joint statement accused the government of not giving access to information it held.

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