KABUL (SW): The journalist fraternity, civil society, the government and the international community alike condemned the deadly assault on a van carrying staffers of Tolo TV that saw seven of them dead.
According to Abdul Rahman Rahimi, Kabul Police Chief, the suicide attack on the Dar-ul-Aman road was aimed at the very van carrying Tolo’s employees. Some 28 people have been wounded in this attack.
Claiming responsibility of the attack, the Taliban said it was a ‘revenge of the mockery of Islam’ by Tolo TV. The media group was on the militants’ hit list over alleged propaganda campaign against the militants during the brief fall of Kunduz City.
President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has strongly criticized the assault on journalists. A statement by the Presidential Palace noted that the militants aim to curb press freedom and silence the voice of free media.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has also condemned the suicide attack against media workers in Kabul yesterday that killed eight and injured 24 civilians, many of them from the media sector.
The world body called on all parties to the conflict, including the Taliban, to rescind any threats against the media.
“Strong and independent journalism, free from intimidation and fear of criminal violence, is essential for a healthy democracy and decent society,” said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan and Acting-Head of UNAMA.
The attack has also been condemned by the Resolute Support. “By specifically targeting journalists, terrorists have proven once again they have no regard for Afghanistan’s people or future,” said Brig. Gen. Wilson Shoffner, Resolute Support deputy chief of staff for communications. “A free press is critical to Afghanistan’s future, and we owe a debt of gratitude to the men and women who choose to become journalists in this critical time in Afghanistan’s history”, he added.
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