INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Forty-three percent of Afghan media outlets disappeared within three months of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) coming into power, a
UN official said on Saturday.That means more than 6,400 journalists lost their jobs, Deputy Special Representative of the UN
Secretary-General, Mette Knudsen, said at a ceremony in Kabul Saturday to mark World Press Freedom Day that falls on May 3.She said that
four out of five women journalists are no longer working.The events of August 2021 have upended hard earned gains of decades,& Knudsen said
adding that Afghan media which was seen as one of the success stories of the past two decades is now &struggling for its own
survival.Richard Bennett, UN&s Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan, in a video message, said that the IEA has
&promulgated new and restricted guidelines for the media and access to information has become more challenging, impacting negatively on the
dissemination of information.We call on the authorities to recognize and respect a free pluralistic and independent media and we urge the
authorities to comply with Afghanistan&s obligations under international human rights instruments and protect and promote freedom of opinion
and expression with equality between women and men as stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights to which Afghanistan is a state party,& Bennett said.Hujatullah Mujaddidi, head of Afghanistan Independent
Journalists Association, said that the media outlets currently operating in the country are facing financial problems, a shortage of skilled
staff and restrictions imposed by the IEA.IEA officials, however, have repeatedly said that they are committed to ensuring freedom of media
in Afghanistan, provided its according to Sharia rules and national interests are observed.The post 43% of Afghan media outlets closed down
within 3 months of IEA takeover: UN first appeared on Ariana News.
