PM Imran To Meet With Members Of Afghan Media At 4pm Today

Prime Minister Imran Khan will meet with members of the Afghan media at 4 pm today, the PM office stated in a Tweet.

وزيراعظم عمران خان به نن د ماسپخين څلور بجې د افغان ميډيا غړو سره ملاقات کوي. pic.twitter.com/aEsf6CfDe5

— Prime Minister's Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) July 28, 2021

Noted that, Afghan authorities have arrested four journalists who entered Spin Boldak in the southern province of Kandahar on charges of spreading propaganda.

Clashes continue between security forces and Taliban fighters in Spin Boldak.

The move by Afghan officials has drawn strong criticism from the media and NGO representatives, although the government has said it wants to make sure reporters are safe.

The Afghan Interior Ministry said all detained journalists had been barred from entering the area but ignored the agency’s warning.

Of the four journalists arrested, three work for local radio and one for local television, he said.

Hamid Roshan, the deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said the NDS did not allow journalists to enter the area because security forces wanted to save their lives.

Another Interior Ministry spokesman later said that the journalists had been arrested for “propaganda” and that security agencies were investigating.

Interior Ministry spokesman Mirwais Stanikzai said the government respects freedom of expression in Afghanistan and is committed to it, but any propaganda against the country’s interests with terrorists and the enemy is a crime.

Local media representatives say the country’s ability to report on conflicts is increasingly being hampered, and the international rights group Amnesty International has demanded the release of the four journalists.

“We are concerned about the detention of four journalists in Kandahar by the National Security Directorate,” Amnesty International said on the social networking site Twitter.

Mujib Khalwatgar, head of the Afghan media rights group NAI, said there had been an increase in violence against journalists since Washington announced the withdrawal of US troops by September.

“We expect the government to support freedom of expression,” he said.