KABUL (Pajhwok): The UN mission and a number of media support organizations have criticized the Taliban for banning a press conference, calling the decision a restriction on freedom of expression and calling on the government to not interfere with their activities.

The Federation of Afghan Journalists announced that it plans to hold a conference on Wednesday on the situation of media and journalists in Afghanistan.

“Despite the availability of the necessary facilities and the invitations sent to journalists to cover this conference, the Islamic Emirate prevented the event by a verbal order,” said a statement from the federation.

He asked the government to cooperate with journalists to solve their problems in coordination with members of the federation.

The Free Speech Hub (FSH), an organization supporting freedom of expression, also claimed ahead of the press conference that some security forces had “threatened and pressured” members of the federation to cancel the event.

In a separate press release, FSH said security forces detained three journalists – Masroor Lotfi, Fardin Atai and Zarif Karimi – in their vehicle for some time and warned them that they had arrest warrants against them. them.

The aim of the conference was to announce the results of an investigation into the situation of journalists, access to information and harassment of media professionals over the past five months.

FSH called the actions of the security forces a “flagrant violation of freedom of expression.” This action by the Taliban is in flagrant contradiction to the promises made by their leaders during the Oslo meetings,” the statement added.

The organization called on the government in place not to interfere with freedom of expression, which it described as an achievement of the Afghan people.

FSH urged the international community, the representative of the European Union in Kabul and UNAMA to use the diplomatic channel to prevent “the voice of the people from being stifled”.

Meanwhile, UNAMA said: “Banning a press conference is a restriction on freedom of expression. The Taliban are asked to support dialogues between Afghans and not to restrict those who have different opinions.

Pajhwok shared the issue with the government and sought comment, but officials have yet to respond.

mds/mud

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