Sar-e-Pul Bans Live Images: TV Stations Convert to Radio as Media Restrictions Tighten

Kokcha News Agency – The Sar-e-Pul Directorate of Vice and Virtue has imposed a ban on the publication of live images, making it the 20th province in Afghanistan to enforce such restrictions. This decision has forced the Sar-e-Pul National Television to convert to a radio station, while other local media outlets have been barred from publishing live images, even on social media platforms.

A local source in Sar-e-Pul informed the Afghanistan Journalists Center that the ban was discussed during a coordination meeting between local government spokespersons and journalists on July 13. During the meeting, Khairullah Khairkhwa, the representative of the Vice and Virtue Directorate in Sar-e-Pul, stated that the publication of live images is prohibited under the Vice and Virtue Law and that media outlets must comply with this order.

A local journalist, who requested anonymity, reported that after the official announcement of the ban, most local officials have refused to give video interviews to the media. Media outlets have also been verbally instructed to avoid publishing live images. The journalist added that the Sar-e-Pul National Television, which previously broadcast local reports and national programs from Kabul, has now been converted into a radio station. Currently, in addition to the national radio and television, the provincial branch of the Bakhtar News Agency, the state-run Sar-e-Pul Newspaper, and private radio stations such as Sada-e-Sar-e-Pul, Banu, and Anbir are operating in the province.

Officials from the ruling administration claim that the ban on live images is based on the Vice and Virtue Law, which was enacted on August 21, 2023. This prohibition has now been officially enforced in 20 provinces, including Kandahar, Takhar, Badghis, Helmand, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Farah, Nimruz, Badakhshan, Baghlan, Jowzjan, Zabul, Parwan, Kunduz, Bamyan, Daykundi, Faryab, Panjshir, and Laghman.

The Afghanistan Journalists Center has condemned the ban on live images in Sar-e-Pul and efforts to expand and enforce this policy in various provinces, calling it a violation of the fundamental principles of freedom of expression and free media. The center warns that this move will further exacerbate the already limited access to information and have severe consequences for the work of independent journalists and media outlets.

This independent media advocacy organization calls on the ruling administration to reconsider and revoke this regressive order and other media directives that contradict the Media Law. It urges the government to create a safe and free environment for media activities so that journalists can exercise their fundamental rights.

The ban on live images in Sar-e-Pul is the latest in a series of restrictive measures imposed on Afghan media, further limiting freedom of expression and access to information. The Afghanistan Journalists Center has called for the immediate revocation of this order and other media restrictions, urging the government to protect the rights of journalists and ensure a free media environment.

For more updates on media freedom in Afghanistan, stay tuned to Kokcha News Agency.

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