MoIC renews licences of 3 media support bodies, revokes remaining

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Ministry of Information and Culture (MoIC) has renewed the licences of three media and journalist support bodies and revoked the licences of the remaining organisations due to repeated complaints from journalists and unprofessional conduct.

In a statement, the ministry said it conducted a comprehensive assessment of media and journalist support organisations following persistent complaints from journalists and media outlets.

It said the assessment found that the large number of such organisations and the lack of professionalism among the leadership of some had, instead of resolving journalists’ and media-related problems, created additional difficulties and damaged the credibility of Afghanistan’s media institutions internationally.

The statement added that some of the organisations had been inactive for some time.

In light of these findings, MoIC leadership decided to renew the licences the Afghan Journalists and Media Support Organisation, the Afghan Press Centre and the Afghanistan  Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC) and revoke the licences of the remaining bodies.

The decision aims to safeguard the rights of journalists and media outlets, prevent misuse in their name and ensure that the activities of the remaining organisations were effective, organised and credible, the statement concluded.

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