At least 70% of media outlets have stopped working in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control over the country, due to financial problems said the National Association of Journalists.
The National Association of Journalists in a press conference in Kabul on Sunday, said that they found the statistics after conducting an online survey in 28 provinces of Afghanistan, Khamma Press reported. They said that 1,500 Afghan journalists had taken part in the survey.
As per the statistics of the organization, 67% of Afghan journalists have lost their jobs and 33% of them were busy working under acute pressure and in tough situations.
The head of the National Association of Journalists, Masroor Lutfi said that most of Afghan media that were active were confronting dire economic and financial situations.
“40% of the Afghan journalists are worried about their safety in Afghanistan and rest of them are living a difficult life as they have lost their jobs.” Said Lutfi.
The re-emergence of the Taliban in Afghanistan raised the concerns among many that journalists in the country would be targeted to silence dissent.
Recently, two Afghan journalists were beaten in police custody after covering a protest by women in Kabul.
At the first Taliban news conference on 17 August after the group took Kabul, their spokesperson, Zabiullah Mujahid, had said that media would remain “free and independent,” provided they worked according to “Islamic principles”, and were fair and served “national interests”: The Human Rights Watch said that Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have imposed wide-ranging restrictions on media and free speech that are already stifling criticism and dissent.
Taliban security forces have also arbitrarily detained journalists and beaten several. The head of a journalists’ advocacy group told Human Rights Watch that the Taliban had taken at least 32 journalists into custody since they took power in Kabul on 15 August.