KABUL (SW): Nai – Supporting Open Media organization has pronounced impediments in accessing information as the second major challenge for journalists after insecurity.
Mujib Khilwatgar, chief executive officer of Nai, said on Sunday the National Unity Government (NUG) is imposing its will upon the people by imposing restrictions on the social media.
There are reports that a number of social media networks stopped working in Herat province when President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani visited to inaugurate a new cotton factory during the Independence Day celebrations there on Saturday.
This alleged ban on Facebook and Instagram irked journalists in Herat.
Meanwhile, Jailani Farhad, spokesman for the governor of Herat, has rejected these reports while reiterating the government’s resolve for free media and easy access to information. “I believe this criticism has no valid reasons because the government is committed to freedom of speech and has issued decrees and legislated laws for it. The President’s trip to Herat was for interaction with the people”, he added.
Journalists have lamented the hurdles in the implementation of access to information law in the past as well.
ENDS
