A Kabul-based Afghan journalist was stabbed last weekend by unidentified people in the western part of the city as fear grows in the Afghan media which is facing increasing challenges like violent crimes and lack of access to information among others. In the last week alone, at least five journalists were attacked in different Afghan provinces, according to Afghanistan’s National Journalists Association. 

Javid Yusufi, who works at Ufuq News, was stabbed on Sunday evening, reported TOLOnews. Yusufi, who has been working in the media industry for over 10 years, claimed he had no personal issues with anyone, raising suspicion that he might have been attacked for his reporting. 

“There were people following me. Two of them attacked me and stabbed me with a knife,” he was quoted as saying by TOLOnews. 

The Taliban, which came to power in August in a violent power takeover, has claimed to have brought the country's law and order condition under control. The reality, however, is different. The unfolding economic and humanitarian crisis has been one of the reasons for the rising violent crimes. 

Since the regime change four months back, the media in Afghanistan is anything but independent. Sensing the bleak prospects ahead, the country witnessed a mass exodus of journalists among other professionals. Those who chose to remain faced rough treatment at the hand of the Taliban. 

Expressing concerns over the rising crimes against journalists, Masror Lutfi, who is the head of Afghanistan’s National Journalists Union, said, “Violence against journalists is unacceptable. The government should take serious steps to investigate these cases.” 

He further claimed at least five cases of attacks against journalists were reported from Kabul, Balk, Takhar Kunduz provinces. 

Aqel Azem, the deputy spokesperson of the Taliban’s Ministry of Interior, however, said, “The government has acted seriously regarding the cases of violence against journalists. It (government) recognized and punished the individuals who were involved in the cases.”

Although the Taliban has promised an independent media under “Islamic rules”, journalists claim the group hasn’t fulfilled its promises, with reporters across the country regularly facing threats and intimidation. Some of them were even picked up by the Taliban’s intelligence wing, media reports claim. 

For the survival of media anywhere in the world, access to information is paramount. However, the Taliban— a group that transitioned from an insurgent entity to a governing political body just four months back—is yet to shed its hesitancy in sharing information with the media and incorporate a measure of transparency in their governance. 

(SAM)