JALALABAD (Pajhwok): Journalists in eastern provinces on Wednesday asked the Taliban government to facilitate their access to information.
The demand was made a meeting hosted by the Afghan Journalist Safety Committee (AJSC) in the east, in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province.
The meeting discussed problems being faced by journalists in eastern provinces.
Yousuf Zarifi, head of the Committee in the East, said 15 incidents of violence against journalists had taken place in the region since August 15, when the Taliban took over.
According to him, "During this period, one journalist was killed, one was injured, four journalists were beaten, three were threatened in the workplace, two journalists were threatened by telephone and in addition two radio stations were shut down by local Taliban commanders.”
According to him, the media outlets have been facing severe economic problems. So far, seven radio stations in Nangarhar, Nuristan and Laghman provinces have stopped broadcasting and dozens of employees, including women, lost their jobs.
Mohammad Asif Shinwari, a reporter for Tehran Ghag Radio in Nangarhar, said that journalists still faced many problems and challenges while going to work and even many journalists have started self-censorship in order to protect themselves.
Baz Mohammad Abid, a reporter for Mashal Radio in Nangarhar, called on the authorities to facilitate access to information.
He said so far three governors had been replaced in Nangarhar, but so far no governor had been able to coordinate with journalists and listen to their concerns, which was why journalists were still facing problems.
On the other hand, Abdul Basir Zabuli, Spokesman of Nangarhar Police Headquarters, assured the journalists of all possible cooperation in the field of security and also access to information.
The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee in the eastern zone is concerned that many other media outlets will close down in the future due to economic problems.
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