Media restrictions continue: Source: Taliban not granting licenses to new Television Channels
Tawazon – A source in the Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Tawazon that the ministry has decided not to grant operating licenses to newly established television channels.
The source told Tawazon today (Tuesday, January 30) that the ministry will not issue operating licenses to any visual media, including television channels and YouTube channels.
According to the source, the Ministry of Information and Culture made this decision following a decree by the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, banning the publication of images of living beings in the media.
After this decree, the Taliban imposed restrictions on visual media operations in several provinces, leading to the closure of several media outlets.
The source in the Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture told Tawazon that after Hibatullah Akhundzada’s decree, some individuals approached the ministry to obtain licenses for their television channels, but their applications were rejected.
Notably after the Taliban’s supreme leader ratified a law related to the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, a ban was imposed on the publication of images of living beings in the media.
Since the Taliban’s takeover, hundreds of audio, visual, print, and online media outlets have been shut down, resulting in thousands of journalists and media workers losing their jobs. Many of them have been forced to leave the country.
