Kabul: In Kabul, a new media watchdog, Nehad Rasana-e-Afghanistan, has been established. According to an Afghan news source, the media supervisory body, Nehad Rasana-e-Afghanistan, has committed to preserve the Afghan media and freedom of speech. On Thursday, the inauguration ceremony took place.
Concerns were raised by certain journalists and media people about the use of journalism for personal gain and interests. A news agency quoted an Afghan journalist as saying, “Some of the organizations vowed to work for journalists but we saw that they didn’t bring any positive results.”
According to the Afghanistan news agency, the media organisation or watchdog has vowed to protect the rights of Afghan media and journalists, and is also in talks with the Taliban administration about the status of women journalists.
The news agency quoted Abozar Saram, head of the organization as saying, “We are in negotiations with the Islamic Emirate regarding the status of women journalists. The ongoing problems (in the media family) gave us the motivation to create this organization.”
This is in response to Afghan media groups’ discontinuation of activities. According to Afghanistan’s national journalist organisation, over 70% of activities have been discontinued due to limited access to information and other economic challenges.