New Delhi: While Taliban spokespersons have said in multiple interviews that this time they have overtaken Afghanistan with a different perspective and even assured freedom of the press in the country but a video shared by a BBC reporter speaks contrary to what they had promised.
The 42-second clip, shared on Twitter by BBC reporter Kian Sharifi and Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad, shows the anchor of a news channel surrounded by many Taliban fighters carrying guns reading their message to people.
“With armed Taliban fighters standing behind him, the presenter of Afghan TV's Peace Studio political debate programme says the Islamic Emirate (Taliban's preferred name) wants the public to "cooperate with it and should not be afraid,” Sharifi tweeted. Sharifi said in another tweet the programme is called Pardaz and that later the presenter interviewed a Taliban fighter who “presumably outranks the rest of the lot in the studio.”
The Taliban militants reportedly asked the anchor to interview them and continued to stand behind him in the studio as he conducted his show. While the anchor was visibly afraid and uncomfortable, the presenter went on to tell the nation to not be scared of the Taliban.
The video of the incident has gone viral on social media and has raised serious questions on the freedom of the press in Afghanistan.
The Taliban, whose hardline enforcement of the Sharia law in their previous reign in Afghanistan from 1996-2001 had been particularly brutal to women and minorities. But, this time they have been trying to soften their image.
Starting from the Taliban spokesperson giving a Television interview to a woman journalist Behesta Arghand who worked for TOLOnews to continuously coming forward and conveying their messages to news agencies, the Taliban has been trying to present a different image of them in front of the world.
They had even promised freedom of the press “within their cultural framework” and asked government employees to return to work, and promised to uphold the rights of women “within the Islamic laws”. However, the recent events have lead many to believe that the promises made by the Taliban were likely bogus.