According to local sources, two private radio stations – Shamla and Dehkada, were temporarily closed by the Taliban municipality on March 10 in Ghazni province in Afghanistan.
The stations were shut down for not possessing the required municipal licenses, although they had licenses from other government entities. This was the second closure of the stations for the same reason in a week.
The closures, which lasted for three hours, led to protests from media officials and local journalists and an intervention from the Information and Culture department.
They were permitted to resume operations, provided they agreed to meet the municipality’s taxation demands within one week.
Taliban municipal officials have conveyed to the media organizations that pressure from Kabul authorities necessitates the enforcement of municipal law, which includes an annual “license tax” of 7,000 Afghan afghanis, approximately US $100.
This action, according to the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) places undue pressure on media organizations, effectively subjecting them to double jeopardy by demanding additional licensing when they already comply with broader regulatory and tax requirements.
Photo: AFJC