Afghan journalists between hammer of Taliban and anvil of ISIS

Mohamed Youssri

Afghan journalists celebrate their National Press Day on March 18 every year.

The celebration came this year while fear hangs over most journalists in this country, who fell between the hammer of the ruling Taliban movement and the anvil of ISIS.

This puts Afghan journalists in the crosshairs of its fire. This adds to the restrictions the Taliban imposes on the work of the journalists of their country.

Taliban’s hammer

Afghan journalists have been suffering from many restrictions since the Taliban came to power.

These compound the record of restrictions the journalists have been living under during the past 40 years.

Nevertheless, under the Taliban, the journalists are also prone to violence on almost a daily basis.

The Organization for the Defence of Open Media in Afghanistan issued a statement on the occasion of the National Press Day, declaring its defiance in the face of the violence and restrictions imposed by the Taliban on the press and the journalists.

The statement pointed out that Afghanistan has witnessed horrific incidents against journalists since the beginning of this year.

The organization explained that economic conditions in Afghanistan have forced many newspapers and media outlets to close down, which led to hundreds of journalists losing their jobs and some of them leaving the country.

It called on the Taliban government to respect the press, media and freedom of speech.

The statement came at a time when Afghan journalists are witnessing increasing restrictions from the Taliban on their activities and an increase in the arrest of journalists.

According to the news site, Kabul Now, the prosecution of journalists has affected them.

The Taliban has arrested several journalists, including some who have been languishing in Taliban prisons since the beginning of this year, the site said.

Meanwhile, the Afghan organization for the Protection of Journalists issued a similar statement last year on the one-year anniversary of the Taliban’s seizure of power.

It said Afghan media is struggling to survive, a year after the movement came to power.

The statement pointed out that the press has witnessed more restrictions and tight censorship amid the deterioration of economic conditions, in addition to restrictions on women working in the media field.

This, the organization said, led to the flight of many journalists and media cadres from Afghanistan.

ISIS anvil

On March 11, ISIS targeted a gathering to honour journalists in Balkh province, just two days after a terrorist attack targeted the governor of the province.

The Amaq Agency, one of the media arms of ISIS, issued a statement clarifying the details of the operation.

It pointed out that an explosion occurred during a ceremony held to honour a number of journalists working in various media agencies involved in the fight against the organization.

ISIS confirmed its threats to journalists, explaining that the operation may be repeated in the future to prove that the Taliban failed to secure its allies who are loyal to the Iranian regime.