Afghanistan: three radio stations in Khost targeted by local authorities as the persecution of journalism intensifies
In the past two weeks, three radio stations in Khost province have been banned from broadcasting by local authorities. Their return to to the airwaves is conditional on their compliance with repressive rules: no music or calls from female listeners. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Taliban Minister of Information and Culture to end the oppression of the right to information in Afghanistan.
The office of the privately-owned radio station Lawang has been sealed since 6 November. Located in Khost province in southeastern Afghanistan, the station was targeted by the tyrannical policies of the provincial authorities for the Promotion of Virtue and the Repression of Vice, which accused the station of violating its new rules. On 26 October, media outlets in Khost province were banned from broadcasting music. The provincial authorities had already banned women's voices from being aired on the radio in February. A news station launched in January 2024, Lawang also played a role in public education, broadcasting learning programmes aimed at young girls, who have been banned from secondary and higher education since March 2022.
A few days before Lawang was shut down, Zhman Radio experienced a similar disruption for violating the ban on broadcasting music. Founded in 2017, the local media outlet mainly broadcasts political, social, cultural, and educational programmes. The station was eventually allowed to resume activity on 11 November — provided it complied with the new restrictions. This also happened to Gharghasht Radio, which was closed on 31 October before resuming operations three days later, on the condition that it stopped broadcasting music.
"Since their return to power in August 2021, the Taliban have been conducting a brutal crackdown on the Afghan media, stifling all independent voices and plunging the country into a silence fostered by fear. Their crackdown on Khost radio stations is a worrying sign that the ideologies inflicted on the media are hardening. We call on the Taliban authorities in Khost to reopen Radio Lawang immediately, to stop forcing radio stations to close, and to respect the right to information. Radios must continue to broadcast freely.
The repression of media outlets on "morality" grounds is particularly intense in Khost. Three radio journalists, Ismail Sadat of Radio Naz, Wahidullah Masoum of Radio Iqra and Ehsanullah Tasa of Radio Walas Ghazh, were arrested and detained for several days last April, accused of broadcasting music and airing telephone calls from women.
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