AFJC Condemns Taliban’s Suspension of Shamshad TV Operations

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The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) has condemned the Taliban’s suspension of Shamshad Television’s operations, calling it “a direct interference in media affairs.”

In a statement issued on Saturday (October 18), the organization said that the Taliban’s intelligence agency halted Shamshad TV’s broadcasts due to its “failure to cover border clashes with Pakistan and its lack of support for the Taliban.”

The Center urged the Taliban to immediately allow the network to resume its operations.

Shamshad TV was shut down on Friday night (October 17) by order of Taliban security institutions in Kabul “until further notice.” Its radio, social media pages, and news sections were also suspended simultaneously.

According to some sources, the order to suspend the channel was issued by Taliban security authorities in Kandahar, where the group’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is based.

Shamshad TV is one of Afghanistan’s most established and widely viewed media outlets, broadcasting news, cultural, and social programs in Pashto since 2006.

Since the Taliban’s return to power, severe media censorship, journalist detentions, threats against media managers, and economic restrictions have forced dozens of domestic outlets to shut down. The closure of Shamshad TV marks yet another example of the growing pressure on press freedom in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.