Afghanistan plans ban on live coverage of Taliban attacks

KABUL - The Afghan government intends to ban live media coverage of Taliban attacks because it has evidence that militants have used live footage to direct their fighters on the ground, a presidential spokesman said Tuesday.

The announcement came four days after five Taliban suicide bombers attacked two guesthouses in the heart of Kabul, killing 17 people, including 11 Indians and Westerners.

“Live broadcast of the scene of the attacks has in the past been used by the enemies to get instructions to their people who were at the scene,” Waheed Omar, chief spokesman for President Hamid Karzai, said at a press conference.

“So there are two things that we want to ensure: The protection of the lives of the journalists and a mechanism that will ensure that the enemy does not use live broadcasts to plan or to get instructions to their people at the scene, which makes not only the security forces vulnerable but also civilians and journalists,” he said.

It appeared the ban would apply to both local and international media outlets working in Afghanistan. The US, the biggest backer of the Afghan government, said it opposes moves to restrict press access.

“It’s pretty obvious that we support free press. We don’t like restrictions on the press,” Richard Holbrooke, the special US envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, told reporters in Washington. He added that it was an issue of “legitimate concern”.

On Monday, the National Directorate of Security, the country’s intelligence service, told a group of media representatives, including international reporters, that such reporting emboldens other militants and bolsters their cause.

The government stance was criticised by journalists.

“This is an obstacle for the media, and it is against the constitution and freedom of speech in Afghanistan,” said Abdul Hameed Mubarez, head of the Afghan National Journalists Union.

“The journalists will not accept this because censorship is banned by our constitution,” he said.

Omar said the move was not censorship. “It does not restrict anybody access to information, and it does not restrict the presence of the media at the scene,” he said.

The move resembled a directive issued by the Afghan government last year, instructing the media not to broadcast any incidents of violence during polling in the Aug 20 presidential election.