Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the Taliban's deputy foreign minister, criticised the restrictions on the media at a meeting in Kabul. He called on the Taliban administration to strengthen the media and leave it free.
On Wednesday, December 18, the Taliban official said at a seminar on "The Role of the Media in Strengthening the Islamic System" in Kabul that the media should be viewed as "nationalists”.
He warned that too many restrictions and criticism of the media would do more harm than good.
"My request to the government and the Islamic Emirate (Taliban) is to strengthen and support our media," Stanekzai said.
He said that the media should not be troubled for minor issues, adding, "They should be free, and this is possible only when the distance between the emirate and the media is bridged."
At the same time, the Taliban's deputy foreign minister stressed that domestic media should fight against negative propaganda - according to him - "biased media" and show off the positive progress of the Taliban administration to the world.
On October 15, Saiful Islam Khyber, a spokesman for the Taliban's Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, announced that the law banning the publication of images of living beings would be implemented gradually across Afghanistan.
Banning images of living beings risks stopping television broadcasts.
In the visual media sector, the restriction was first implemented in Kandahar Province and then extended to provinces such as Takhar, Nangarhar and other areas. Some media outlets have practically stopped broadcasting in some provinces.
In a meeting with journalists, Taliban officials have said that they should refrain from publishing pictures of living creatures. They have emphasised that only audio should be broadcast on television.
Despite the suspension of some television stations in the provinces, private and public media outlets in Kabul continue to operate.
Organisations supporting journalists have expressed concern that if this law is fully implemented, the activity of visual media in Afghanistan will be practically stopped.
