Ministry spokesman Khabib Ghafran said considerable efforts have been made to ensure access to information and said no journalist has been detained for media-related activities in the past three years.
These reports attempt to associate incidents not related to journalism, or security-related issues with the work of journalists. However, this is not the case, and no journalist has been detained as a journalist, the spokesperson stressed.
On Wednesday, UNAMA published a document entitled “Press Freedom in Afghanistan”, covering the period from August 15, 2021 to September 30, 2024.
The report, which covers four main sections: access to information, media closures, restrictions and the situation of women in the media, highlights that the lack of clear procedures and the use of arbitrary arrests and detentions have had a negative impact on freedom of expression.
The report also notes that before August 2021, 543 media outlets with more than 10,000 employees operated in Afghanistan; however, in November 2021, approximately 43% of these platforms ceased operations and the number of employees in the sector dropped to 4,360, while 84% of women lost their jobs.
More than three years after the re-establishment of the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban government), the Media Law and other regulations related to the sector have still not been ratified.
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