Taliban To Impose Media Ban On Images Of Living Things

A poster of the Taliban's spiritual leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, is seen along a road in Kabul in 2023.

Afghanistan's Taliban morality ministry pledged on October 14 to implement a law banning news media from publishing images of all living things, with journalists told the rule will be gradually enforced. "The law applies to all Afghanistan...and it will be implemented gradually" by persuading people images of living things are against Islamic law, a spokesman for the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, Saiful Islam Khyber, told the AFP news agency. The Taliban government's judiciary recently announced legislation formalizing its strict interpretations of Islamic law. Aspects of the new law have not yet been strictly enforced, however, and Taliban officials continue to regularly post photos of people on social media.