Afghanistan: Radio Gharghasht resumes broadcasts after three-day ban by Taliban
Radio Ghargasht, a local station in the southeastern province of Khost, Afghanistan, resumed operations on Saturday following a three-day ban imposed by the Taliban.The timing of the station’s brief closure coincided with the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, observed on November 2.Established in 2017, Radio Ghargasht broadcasts 18 hours a day, reaching audiences in surrounding provinces, including Paktia, and border areas of Pakistan.Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice ordered the shutdown after the station aired background music during its programming, a practice now prohibited under the Taliban’s strict media guidelines.According to the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC), the station is now permitted to operate solely under the condition that it refrains from any music broadcasting.Prior to its closure, a meeting was held in Khost with representatives from the department of Information and Culture, Virtue and Vice, and the General Directorate of Intelligence, where media outlets were explicitly warned that all forms of music broadcasting were strictly prohibited.A day after the station’s closure, another meeting was convened by the Department of Information and Culture of Khost province. Subhanullah Azam, the Director of Information of the department, issued a stark warning that media outlets defying the music ban would face severe consequences.AFJC welcomed the station’s reopening but strongly condemned the initial closure as a blatant violation of press freedom principles. It urged Taliban authorities to adhere to Afghanistan’s media law, which they have recognized, ensuring that journalists and media organizations can operate freely and without undue restrictions. […]
