Media

The global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned a new Taliban threat against media in Afghanistan.

In a June 20 statement, RSF warned of a Taliban threat to Afghan media after airstrikes reportedly targeted an insurgent radio station in central Afghanistan earlier this month.

“We once again warn all parties to the conflict, both state and non-state actors, and remind them of their obligations as regards the protection of journalists,” said Reza Moini, RSF’s Afghanistan desk head.

He warned that attacks on civilian targets, including journalists, amounted to war crimes. “We will hold Taliban delegations abroad, including their office in Doha, to account for every Taliban attack on journalists and media,” he noted.

In a June 12 statement, the Taliban had claimed that “American occupying forces” destroyed their Voice Of Shariah Radio station in the central province of Ghazni.

“The enemy and media organizations must recognize that the mujahedin of the Islamic Emirate (formal name of the Taliban) will not tolerate such actions in the future,” the insurgents, who have targeted media organizations, said in the communique. “If our media faces such actions in the future, our reaction will be very strong.”

Washington, however, denied the accusation. On June 12, Ghazni police chief Farid Ahmad Mashal said airstrikes by Afghan security forces had killed six Taliban fighters and destroyed their propaganda outfit.

Lieutenant-Colonel Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for the NATO-led Resolute Support mission, said the Taliban statement “speaks volumes with regards to the capabilities” of the Afghan Air Force.

“It was two Afghan Air Force A-29s (not five U.S. aircraft) that conducted the strike on a Taliban radio broadcasting tower (not radio station) on June 10,” he said.

RSF noted that previous Taliban threats against media have been followed by deadly attacks.

In October 2015, the Taliban described Tolo TV and TV1, Afghanistan’s two biggest privately owned TV stations, as military targets. A few months later, seven employees of the Kabura production company, part of Tolo TV’s parent company, Moby Group, were killed in suicide attack January 20, 2016.

“RSF regards the Taliban as enemies of the press,” the statement said. “Their goal is to create news and information black holes, and they have done this in the areas they control.”

The organization says the Taliban and Islamic State (IS) militants are responsible for killing most of the 36 journalists killed in Afghanistan since the beginning of 2016.

Afghanistan is considered one of the most dangerous countries for journalists. According to RSF’s 2018 World Press Freedom Index, Afghanistan ranks 118th out of 180 countries.

A Pakistani journalist and rights activist who openly criticized the military for allegedly meddling in politics was freed early on June 6, several hours after being abducted, her family and colleagues said.

The journalist, Gul Bukhari, who has dual citizenship in Pakistan and Britain, has been a vocal critic of Pakistan's powerful military on social media in the run-up to the July 25 general election.

She has also defended Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party founder, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who has clashed with the military.

Bukhari's abduction by unknown men occurred one day after a military spokeman warned at a press conference that it is monitoring citizens who criticize Pakistan, amid a growing crackdown on free speech in the country.

Bukhari was on her way to record a TV program on June 5 on the late-night Waqt news show when her vehicle was intercepted in the eastern city of Lahore and she was taken away, her husband and media colleagues said.

"She is back and she is fine," Ali Nadir, Bukhari's husband, told media, when she was released hours later.

Earlier, Muhammad Gulsher, who is a producer on the Waqt news program where Bukhari was to appear as a guest, raised alarm about her abduction.

He said that, according to Bukhari's driver, a group of pick-up trucks stopped her vehicle and men in plain clothes put a black mask on her face and dragged her away, while other men in "army uniforms" stood guard.

Pakistan's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bukhari's abduction for several hours drew widespread outrage on social media. Many activists immediately blamed the military, saying it was part of the army's efforts to stifle dissent.

"If true, this would be a most audacious attempt to silence a known critic. Is this Pakistan or Kim’s North Korea or Sisi’s Egypt?" tweeted Syed Talat Hussain, a prominent journalist.

Maryam Nawaz, daughter of former prime minister, said it was "extremely disturbing" and the "worst kind of oppression."

"I hope better sense prevails and she returns unharmed. This is simply not acceptable," she tweeted.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was "alarmed" by the report of Bukhari's abduction, and called on police to ensure her return.

"Pakistani journalists have seen enough tragedy," the journalism watchdog group tweeted.

Several social media activists were kidnapped in Pakistan in the past year in what rights activists say were attempts to intimidate and silence critics of Pakistan’s security establishment.

Five Pakistani bloggers went missing for several weeks before four of them were released. All four fled abroad and at least two afterwards told media that they were tortured by a state intelligence agency during their disappearance.

The military has staunchly denied playing a role in any enforced disappearances, as has the civilian government.

In the run-up to the polls, media houses have complained of growing censorship by the military establishment.

In the past six months, Bukhari, who has 69,000 Twitter followers, has penned several critical articles for the Nation newspaper about Pakistan's military and the judiciary, accusing them of overstepping their constitutional mandate and trying to interfere in the political process.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters