Kabul: According to media reports, eight people were injured in an explosion on Wednesday in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Eight people were injured in an explosion targeting a vehicle carrying employees of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, according to a spokesman for the Kabul Security Department, Tolo news reported. During an early morning rush, the blast targeted a minibus carrying Taliban employees in front of a government building in Police District 5. A bus,” Tolo quoted a local resident as saying. According to media reports, the police have cordoned off the area and barred people, including journalists, from entering the blast site. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast so far. Is.
Afghan media shaken by Taliban
The disruption of 2021 – the Taliban’s takeover of the war-ravaged country – shook Afghanistan’s mainstream media, which had only recently begun to recover. As the Afghan Diaspora Network reports, a survey conducted in December 2021 by Reporters Without Borders and the Afghan Independent Journalists Association revealed the closure of more than 200 media outlets, resulting in the layoffs of around 6,400 journalists following the regime change. Over the past two decades, the transfer of power from the Western-backed government to the Taliban has resulted in several changes in the way institutions operate. According to the Afghan Diaspora Network, many media personalities who were not used to working within the framework of the Taliban regime were relocated to neighboring or Western countries.
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While it remains to be seen what the future holds for the country’s popular media, this turmoil has undoubtedly troubled it in the short term. According to the Afghan Diaspora Network, most of the media is trying to adjust to the new environment, but the turmoil presented an opportunity for Pakistan. According to the Afghan Diaspora Network, Islamabad has now resorted to tinkering with the Afghan media to improve its public image, receiving criticism from all sides for sowing discord and interfering in Afghan rule. According to some Afghan journalists, these efforts are part of a well-coordinated strategy aimed at filling the country’s media void with Pakistan-friendly coverage.
Taliban’s plan ahead
Although ordinary Afghan journalists working on the ground are not aware of the full plan, they suspect that it is supported by Pakistani agencies. The Afghan Diaspora Network reported that Afghan journalists facing the crisis are being included for their positive coverage of Pakistan and its possible role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Fully funded training courses are being provided to Afghan media persons with special focus on women journalists. Some local media houses are said to have been approached with offers of monetary assistance. Some of them facing financial pressure are sensitive to this strategy. Pakistani private media companies are also being encouraged to set up their outlets in Kabul to counter any negative perception about the Pakistani government/military.
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Separately, Islamabad is increasing engagement with local Afghan NGOs/civil society and efforts are being made to engage some foreign media houses, and western outlets focused on the Af-Pak region to set up offices in Islamabad for better coordination. being contacted. However, his intention to artificially establish a strategic foothold through the media may not be effective, because of public distrust. As the Afghan Diaspora Network reports, the past few years have seen a definite shift in public consumption of news and fiction, with the emergence of social media.