International press freedom organization asks Taliban not to 'harass' journalists in Afghanistan

Members of the Taliban Badri 313 military unit stand guard at a check point as airport workers queue to enter to the Kabul International Airport in Kabul on September 4, 2021. (AFP)

• CPJ says it has documented 'beatings and whippings of journalists' since the Taliban took Afghanistan's control
• A senior official of the organization maintains it is time for the Afghan faction to live up to its commitment to allow independent journalism

ISLAMABAD: An international press freedom organization on Friday urged the Taliban to instruct their foot soldiers not to "detain or harass" journalists in Afghanistan and allow them to report the latest developments in the war-torn country without fear of violence or reprisal.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New York-based non-governmental entity, issued the statement a little more than a week after two Pakistani journalists from Khyber News were detained by the Taliban while they were reporting from Kandahar in southern Afghanistan.
While both the journalists were released by the Afghan faction on August 27, it raised concerns regarding the commitment of the Taliban to free speech and expression.
CPJ said Muhammad Iqbal, another Pakistani correspondent working for 92 News, had also gone missing in Afghanistan and was thought to be in the Taliban custody.
"It's time for the Taliban to live up to the commitment it made to allow independent journalism to continue operating," CPJ's Asia program coordinator Steven Butler said in a statement. "The Taliban leadership must make it crystal clear to fighters around the country that they should stop detaining and interfering with journalists as they go about their work."
The Taliban had promised to uphold media freedom in Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul on August 15, asking journalists to report with "impartiality" to improve governance in the country.
A commander of the Afghan faction even granted an interview to a female news anchor of a leading television channel as a goodwill gesture.
CPJ said, however, it had documented "beatings and whippings of journalists, raids on media workers' homes, and female state media reporters being forced off the air."
The international organization added neither of the two Taliban spokesmen, Zabihullah Mujahid and Suhail Shaheen, entertained its request for a comment on the issue.