Taliban Detain Journalists Covering Anti-Pakistan Protests in Kabul: Reports

According to NDTV, reporters and cameraperson of TOLOnews and Ariana News had been arrested and later released.

Taliban soldiers in Kabul on  Tuesday.

(Photo: PTI)

The Taliban on Tuesday, 7 September, arrested several journalists for covering the protests against Pakistan’s alleged involvement in Afghanistan’s affairs, AP reported.

According to NDTV, reporters and cameraperson of TOLOnews and Ariana News had been arrested.

An Afghan journalist who had been detained by the Taliban and later released told the Associated Press, “They made me rub my nose on the ground and apologise for covering the protest,” he said. “Journalism in Afghanistan is getting harder."

TOLOnews TV channel said its cameraman Wahid Ahmadi had been arrested.

He was released only after the head of Afghanistan’s first 24-hour news and current affairs television channel appealed to the Taliban, reported NDTV.

Bais Hayat, a journalist with Ariana News, said his colleague Sami Jahesh, along with their cameraman, had been detained by the Taliban during coverage of the demonstrations, reported NDTV.

“We have been out of contact with them for more than two hours, and we do not know their status,” Hayat tweeted.

The Taliban had to fire shots in the air to disperse those protesting in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul against Pakistan’s involvement in Afghanistan’s internal affairs. The protesters had gathered near Pakistan’s embassy.

(With inputs from AP, NDTV)