Tag Archives: Taliban

Afghanistan media struggle to chart path through Taliban upheaval

Madina Morwat was among scores of Afghan journalists who lost their jobs when dozens of television and radio stations suspended programming after the Taliban captured Kabul last month.

But the 23-year old reporter quickly resumed her career after taking a job at Tolo News, part of Afghanistan’s largest media company Moby Group and a channel that has come to symbolise the rise of liberal media in Afghanistan since the Taliban were first ousted from power following the US-led invasion in 2001. “Many embassies asked if I wanted to leave Afghanistan, but I am committed to work for women and my country,” she said.

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A new order begins under the Taliban’s governance

The phrases have tripped off the tongues of Taliban for quite some time.

“We’re working to establish an inclusive government that represents all the people of Afghanistan,” promised Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar when he recently arrived in Kabul to start talks aimed at forming a leadership to move the movement from guns to government.

“We would like to live peacefully,” vowed Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid at the first press conference in the capital after the Taliban suddenly swept into power on 15 August. “We don’t want any internal enemies and any external enemies.”

Judge them by their actions, not their words, has become the mantra of a fast-expanding league of Taliban watchers including Afghans, foreign governments, humanitarian chiefs and political pundits the world over.

But Afghans are watching most closely of all. They have to.

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Don’t recognise Taliban regime, resistance urges

Anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan have asked the international community not to recognise the new government announced by the Islamists on Tuesday.

The all-male cabinet consisting entirely of Taliban leaders or their associates is “illegal”, they said.

The US has expressed concern that the interim government includes figures linked to attacks on US forces.

And the EU said the Islamist group had reneged on promises to make it “inclusive and representative”.

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Chaos and confusion: The frenzied final hours of the Afghan government

The Taliban have announced a new government from Kabul, 20 years after they were driven from power.

For a generation that grew up with education, international investment and hope in a democratic future, reading that line must feel scarcely believable.

So how did the previous administration fall so quickly? The Taliban went from taking control of their first major city to arriving at the gates of Kabul in just 10 days.

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