Enikas TV shrinks personnel after recent attacks

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): Director of Enikas TV channel in eastern Nangarhar province says that they let all female workers to stay at home until security threats reduced while some others have resigned from their jobs.

Eng. Zalmai Latifi, director of Enikas TV channel, during an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News said that they would have taken security measures for his three female workers killed in recent attack if they were not misinformed about the detention of murderers of one of his workers killed earlier.

Four journalists and a driver working with Enikas TV have been killed in targeted attacks in Jalalabad city, capital of Nangarhar over the last three months.

Malala Maiwand, a female journalist of the TV channel was shot dead by unidentified armed men along with her driver in Jalalabad city on December 10.

On March 2, three more workers of the channel, Shahnaz Raufi, Sadia Sadat and Mursal Wahidi were killed in separate attacks.

Latifi said that they would not have lost other colleagues if they were not misinformed about the murderers of Malala Maiwand.

He criticized the government for assuring them of detention of the murderers of Maiwand and no more threats to the media outlet, while they were unaware of more plots against their workers.

Officials had said that they have arrested two people in connection to the murder of Malala Maiwand but Nangarhar governor, Ziaulhaq Amarkhel later in a conference said that Afghan forces killed the murderers of the victim in two separate incidents.

‘We lost a total of six workers, four journalists and two drivers, our building was first attacked with a bomb and then with rocket strikes from a rickshaw,” he said.

Latifi said that his abduction was the second incident that was followed by the murder of Malal Maiwand and recently the murder of three more workers of the channel.

He added that they let all their six female workers to stay at home due to security threats while a number of others resigned.

There are still threats to us and security organs share possible risks to our organization, he said. According to security organs, the threats are mostly from Daesh or Islamic State and Taliban, he added.

Enikas TV is accused of publishing pro-government programs but the channel’s director says that their policy was always neutral and would not support any sides.

Latifi said that they had tight security measures at their office and his workers were targeted outside.

Enikas is a private TV channel launched in April, 2017.

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