Kabul: A news anchor in Afghanistan’s capital has reportedly been beaten up by an unknown group of armed assailants.
TOLOnews quoted Ahmad Baseer Ahmadi, a news anchor of Ayna TV channel, as saying that he was beaten by a number of armed men in PD 9 of Kabul city.
He was attacked by the armed men when he was returning to his home.
“They hit me on my head with a pistol,” he said.
Confirming the incident, Mohammad Nadir, a witness, said, “One bullet hit the wall and another hit the ground. They hit him on the head with a pistol and broke his teeth.”
“The journalists and media workers are really at risk. Those who said that the journalists are safe are the ones who left the country and live outside of Afghanistan,” Ahmadi pointed out.
Amid the rise in the number of violence against journalists, the media workers have demanded the Taliban government to start a serious probe into the cases of violence against journalists and media employees in Afghanistan.
“The journalists have recently faced persecution. We hope the media watchdogs and Islamic Emirate probe the cases,” Farkhunda Mihbi, a journalist was quoted as saying.
Cases of violence against journalists have recently arisen in the country and the perpetrators are yet to be held accountable, TOLONews quoted Nai, a group supporting open media in Afghanistan.
Naseer Ahmad Noori, an official at Nai said, “We ask the Islamic Emirate to probe the cases so the people will know if it was committed by the people acting under the Islamic Emirate officials or by the individuals who abuse the title of the Islamic Emirate.”
After the Taliban’s took over the government, almost 70 per cent of journalists have lost their jobs, according to a survey conducted by the Afghanistan National Journalists’ Union.
Meanwhile, media organisations, over 80 per cent, have stopped functioning in the country, the survey stated.
