MONITORING (SW) – Another radio station in Afghanistan went off the air for good due to the prevailing security and economic situation.
Kayhan Mohammadzai, managing director of ‘Khyber Nawasht Private Radio’, told Salam Watandar that the station had been broadcasting on the 94.5 FM waves in and around Laghman province for about 10 years, with 22 employees, including four women.
The managing director of this private radio added that after the fall of the previous government, the station faced financial problems and due to the lack of financial resources to pay for the daily expenses of the radio and the salaries of their employees, it had to stop broadcasting.
According to Mr. Mohammadzai, a number of employees of this radio are now unemployed and face many problems due to the lack of other job opportunities.
Meanwhile, Yousef Zarifi, head of the Committee to Protect Journalists in the eastern part of the country, told Salam Watandar that after the fall of the previous government, at least six local radios in the area had been shut down due to lack of financial resources. He added that the media houses that are still operating in this area are facing a lot of problems.
Zarifi said that they have talked to some institutions to provide financial resources, but added that there is not much hope for it. He expressed concerns that if the situation continued like this, a number of other media outlets will also stop operating.
There are currently six local radio stations in Laghman, including the National Radio, which have broadcasts in a number of neighboring regions and provinces.
Hundreds of journalists and media workers have lost their jobs as a result of the shutdown of a number of media outlets recently and are facing serious economic problems.
ENDS
