Azadi Briefing

Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.

I'm Abubakar Siddique, a senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

The Taliban has imposed new restrictions on Afghan broadcasters, banning live broadcasts of political shows and on-air criticism of its policies.

Afghan broadcasters must now prerecord their shows, obtain prior approval of their guest lists, and remove criticism of the Taliban’s laws.

Media outlets and individual media workers will face consequences for failing to adhere to the new rules.

Afghan and international media watchdogs have condemned the new restrictions.

The New York based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on September 24 called on the Taliban to immediately reverse its “draconian media restrictions and stop dragging Afghanistan back to the Stone Age.”

“[It is yet] another attempt to further weaken and suppress free media in the country,” the Afghanistan Journalist Center (AFJC) said in a September 23 statement.

Why It's Important: The new rules are the latest setback to Afghanistan’s once vibrant media scene.

Since the Taliban seized power, it has waged a brutal crackdown on dissent, including beating, detaining, and jailing dozens of journalists.

The hard-line Islamist group has forcibly shut down independent media outlets and prohibited virtually any critical reporting about its unrecognized government.

“These new restrictions signal the end of fundamental media freedoms in Afghanistan,” where the Taliban is attempting to transform the press into a “propaganda tool,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi.

AFJC said the Taliban wants media organizations to “remove weak points, sensitive topics, and criticisms” of its government and leaders.

According to the organization, the Taliban has issued at least 21 directives to the media in recent years that have “significantly” limited press freedom in the country.

What's Next: Despite local and international criticism, the Taliban is unlikely to halt its war against the free press.

The extremist group is likely to keep targeting journalists and others who are critical of its brutal rule.

What To Keep An Eye On

Some Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives have proposed new legislation that would halt all aid to Afghanistan until the Taliban frees three American citizens.

Fox News on September 25 published a draft of The No Funding Without Freedom Act, which if passed would require the State Department to regularly update Congress about U.S. citizens detained in Afghanistan regularly.

The United States has provided over $2.5 billion to Afghanistan in humanitarian assistance through the United Nations and other NGOs since American military forces withdrew from the country in 2021.

The Taliban has held three American citizens since 2022. They are aid worker Ryan Corbett, tourist George Glezmann, and Mahmood Shah Habibi, who led the Afghan Aviation Authority under the previous Afghan government.

Why It's Important: The suspension of American aid to Afghanistan would be a significant blow to more than 23 million Afghans currently in need of humanitarian assistance.

While the Taliban benefits from U.S. aid dollars pouring into the country, the most vulnerable Afghans will be hit the hardest as they reel from the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

That's all from me for now.

Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org

Until next time,

Abubakar Siddique

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday.

Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.

I'm Abubakar Siddique, a senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

A new report by the United Nations has documented a significant uptick in violence in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

In its quarterly report, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) noted a 53 percent rise in violence between May 14 and July 31 compared to the same period last year.

UNAMA recorded 2,127 security-related incidents. Many of the attacks were carried out by anti-Taliban resistance groups, including the National Resistance Front and the Afghanistan Freedom Front, as well as the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) extremist group.

There was also an increase in armed clashes, detonations of improvised explosive devices, and land disputes.

Why It's Important: Rising violence in Afghanistan contradicts the Taliban's claims that it has restored order in the country three years after it seized power.

But the increasing violence is unlikely to lead to the immediate downfall of the Taliban government or trigger a civil war.

The two main anti-Taliban resistance groups carried out a total of 73 attacks during the reporting period. Most were "hit-and-run" attacks and targeted assassinations of Taliban members.

UNAMA said that "the armed opposition continued to pose no significant challenge to the Taliban's hold on territorial control."

IS-K has continued its attacks against the Taliban, religious minorities, and foreigners, despite a brutal Taliban crackdown.

"The simmering levels of violence are concerning," said Graeme Smith, a senior Afghanistan analyst at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. "Still, the latest figures make it clear that the country remains a postwar environment."

A database of violent attacks and fatalities by ACLED, a data-collection, analysis, and crisis-mapping project, shows that violence peaked during the summer of 2022 after the Taliban’s return to power a year earlier. Attacks reached their lowest levels in January of this year but have peaked since then.

"Some of these trends are seasonal," Smith said of the historical pattern of violence in Afghanistan, which rises in the warmer months and declines in winter.

What's Next: Anti-Taliban resistance groups are likely to continue their low-level conflict against the Taliban.

A mostly Pashtun group dominated by clerics, the Taliban has monopolized power and sidelined many of the country’s ethnic and religious groups as well as political factions.

IS-K is likely to remain the biggest threat to the Taliban, which has eroded but not eliminated its rival's capabilities.

What To Keep An Eye On

A diplomatic spat has erupted after a Taliban diplomat refused to stand up when the Pakistani national anthem was played during an event in the country's northwest.

Islamabad complained to Kabul and summoned Afghanistan's most senior diplomat in Pakistan in protest over the incident on September 17.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry accused the Taliban diplomat of "disrespect" and said the incident was "reprehensible."

The Taliban has not officially commented on the incident. But pro-Taliban figures on social media rejected Islamabad's criticism. They said the diplomat did not stand up during the anthem because the Taliban has banned music and considers it forbidden.

Why It's Important: This diplomatic spat marks a new low in bilateral relations marked by regular accusations and threats, border clashes and closures, and Pakistan's expulsion of Afghan refugees.

Islamabad has pressured the Taliban to rein in or expel members of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan extremist group. Islamabad has accused the Taliban of sheltering the militants, which have increased their attacks in Pakistan.

That's all from me for now.

Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org

Until next time,

Abubakar Siddique

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday.