In a stark revelation on World Press Freedom Day, the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) documented at least 150 breaches of press freedom in Afghanistan from May 2025 to April 2026. Sunday’s local media coverage highlighted how these incidents signal a relentless assault on journalism, with the media crisis intensifying under Taliban rule.
Threats dominated the violations, affecting 127 journalists and media staff, while 20 endured arrests—four remain incarcerated. Pakistani airstrikes added to the toll, killing two state broadcasters and wounding one, amid a landscape where conditions have grown more dire despite a slight drop in case numbers.
Taliban policies post-2021 have fueled this downturn. Bans on depicting living creatures now span 25 provinces, shuttering eight TV stations. Defiance prompted closures of 11 media entities and license cancellations for 10 support groups. Government bodies, about half, now shun video interviews and reporting.
Pressure on content is unrelenting: no interviews with unapproved figures, halts for referencing women or live chats with girls. Female reporters face voice bans and censorship at events. Arrests over clothing or facial hair underscore the personal intrusions, backed by new restrictive directives replacing prior laws.
Financial strain is pushing media to the edge, especially in provinces where funding dries up and rules multiply. Journalists are quitting or exiling themselves in droves.
AFJC demands Taliban policy reversals, journalist releases, and a secure workspace. It implores global actors to ramp up aid—political, financial, technical—to sustain Afghanistan’s beleaguered press corps against authoritarian clamps.
