While the governments of Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the US are engaged in renewed quadrilateral efforts to revive the peace negotiations with the Taliban in order to bring the conflict in Afghanistan to an end, the Taliban have ratcheted up their attacks. Since the start of 2016, Kabul alone has suffered six suicide attacks carried out by Taliban militants. In the latest such gruesome incident, a suicide car bomber targeted a minibus carrying employees of a private Afghan television channel TOLO News, which is the country’s first and largest 24-hour news channel and has been actively covering the fight between the national security forces and the Taliban. The attack took place near the Russian embassy in Kabul, killing seven people (six of them being TOLO employees) and injuring at least 24 others. In a statement released after the attack, the Taliban claimed that the attack was punishment for TOLO News carrying “anti-Afghan” and “anti-Taliban” programmes. The Taliban justified the attack by characterising the news organisation as an “intelligence network” and a “spy agency” rather than a media house. The news channel had been in the crosshairs of the Taliban ever since it gave substantial coverage to Taliban atrocities during the siege and brief fall of Kunduz last year, after which the Taliban designated TOLO News a “military target”.
This latest attack showcases the dangerous operating conditions for journalists in Afghanistan. They are targeted by both elements within the state and the militants, and often have to resort to self-censorship to avoid harm coming their way from both corners. Those who attack or intimidate journalists are almost never prosecuted and this impunity has resulted in a near total lack of press freedom. For the past few years, the Taliban have maintained a complex relationship with the press. Prior to 2008 the militant group indiscriminately attacked journalists, but since then they have opted to communicate with them in order to use the media to air their side of the story or embellish reports about their military activities. But when a media group like TOLO takes a defiant stance, it is mercilessly targeted. The ease with which the Taliban has gotten a hold over the media and punishes non-compliance is a worrisome development and bodes poorly for the war-torn country. It is the responsibility of the government to shore up protection to the journalist community. Beyond that, this trend of increased attacks also shows the Taliban reacting to the ongoing peace negotiations. The upturn in violence can either be a sign that the militant group is going for broke as they are unconvinced the talks can give them much more than they can get on the battlefield, or is trying to strengthen its bargaining position in the coming talks. While the latter scenario is more likely, it might still prove backbreaking for the morale of Afghanistan’s military and security forces if such incremental attacks are not stopped.http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/editorial/22-Jan-2016/journalists-attacked
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