KABUL (SW) – The Salam Afghanistan Media Organization (Salam Watandar Radio Network) held a consultative meeting in Kabul on Monday together with the officials of the Islamic Emirate and the network of provincial radio stations to evaluate challenges and opportunities.
Local radio broadcasters later raised various issues at a press conference also attended by officials from the Islamic Emirate.
Technical problems and the depreciation of technical equipment, economic challenges and declining media revenues, shortages of electricity, shortages of professional staff due to financial problems or the migration of manpower were some of the challenges raised. They called on the leadership of the SAMO to take action to address these challenges and to discuss them with the officials of the Islamic Emirate.
At the same time, they called on the officials of the Islamic Emirate to clarify the task of the media law, which is the basis of media activities, and to establish a commission consisting of media officials and officials of the Islamic Emirate to address media problems in various fields.
“Afghanistan’s local media is facing many problems, including economic problems, and most of the media houses have lost their financial resources,” said Rasul Sardash, an official with a local radio station in Jawzjan. “We call on the Islamic Emirate to lift these restrictions and allow free activity on the country’s media.”
However, Jamal Nasser Farahmand, Head of Communications and Public Awareness of the Office of the Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate, praised the cooperation of Salam Watandar with local media and called it valuable in solving the existing challenges of the provincial media outlets.
On the other hand, Abdul Wahed, head of communications at the Department of Strategic Relations of the Ministry of Interior of the Islamic Emirate, assured the security of the media and called on the media to work to ensure the rights of citizens and bring it to the international community.
Noor Mohammad Hashemi, deputy director of the SAMO, assured provincial radio officials that they would be supported in the areas of economics, capacity building and solving technical problems, and he would share their issues with the officials of the Islamic Emirate in order to resolve them. Hashemi emphasized that talks are underway with Salam Watandar sponsors to work more closely with local radio stations.
The meeting also issued a resolution calling on the Islamic Emirate to provide access to information, provide opportunities for female employees to work in the media, and remove illegal restrictions on a number of local media by local officials. It also called for providing facilities for paying taxes and renewing media licenses.
They also called on the authorities of the Islamic Emirate to prevent biased and exploitative people from interfering in the affairs and not to allow the fate of more than 700 employees related to this institution and its provincial colleagues to be harmed.
ENDS
