The Ministry of Information and Culture (MoIC) has renewed the licences of three media and journalist support bodies and revoked the licences of the remaining organisations due to repeated complaints from journalists and unprofessional conduct.
In a statement, the ministry said it conducted a comprehensive assessment of media and journalist support organisations following persistent complaints from journalists and media outlets.
It said the assessment found that the large number of such organisations and the lack of professionalism among the leadership of some had, instead of resolving journalists’ and media-related problems, created additional difficulties and damaged the credibility of Afghanistan’s media institutions internationally.
The statement added that some of the organisations had been inactive for some time.
In light of these findings, MoIC leadership decided to renew the licences the Afghan Journalists and Media Support Organisation, the Afghan Press Centre and the Afghanistan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC) and revoke the licences of the remaining bodies.
The decision aims to safeguard the rights of journalists and media outlets, prevent misuse in their name and ensure that the activities of the remaining organisations were effective, organised and credible, the statement concluded.
Findings from the Afghanistan Journalists Center show that this directive applies to organizations that had received operating licenses from the Ministry of Information and Culture before the Taliban’s return to power in 2021 (1400 in the solar calendar), during the former republic. Due to restrictions imposed by the Taliban authorities, most of these organizations had been working primarily in training journalists and media staff.
A source said that, apart from the “Afghan Journalists Safety Committee,” whose license was issued under the previous government, and the newly established “Afghanistan Journalists and Media Support Foundation” and “Afghan Press Center,” the licenses of at least 10 journalism and media organizations have been revoked. The source added that the fate of several other organizations that obtained licenses from the Ministry of Justice under the current authorities is unclear, but there are concerns that action may also be taken against them.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center considers the decision by the authorities’ Ministry of Information and Culture to cancel the licenses of journalism and media organizations to be contrary to the country’s Mass Media Law and the fundamental principles of media freedom, and condemns it. The center views this move as a continuation of the suppression of freedom of expression and media freedom, aligned with policies of monopoly and one-voice control by the authorities, and warns of its consequences.
While the authorities have already severely suppressed independent and free media and journalists, they are also seeking to silence any voices not aligned with their policies. By promoting propaganda and narratives that support the authorities, they aim to monitor and control all forms of media activity.
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