UN, Amnesty Decry Latest Taliban Crackdown on Afghan Journalism

The United Nations and press freedom advocates Thursday criticized Afghanistan’s Taliban for allegedly banning a journalist organization from holding news conferences without permission from the ruling Islamist group.

Officials at the Afghanistan Federation of Journalists and Media said they had organized a press conference in Kabul on Wednesday to share findings of a survey on the status of journalists and media workers in the country, but they were forced by Taliban authorities to cancel the event.

Ali Asghar Akbarzada, a senior member of the federation, told local media the Taliban also verbally instructed his group not to hold any future press conferences without permission from the Ministry of Information and Culture.

Bilal Karimi, a Taliban government spokesman, rejected allegations they were imposing restrictions on freedom of media.