October 8, 2024
Kabul - Mahdi Ansary, a reporter for the Afghan News Agency (AFKA), has reportedly ‘disappeared’ in Kabul. Sources close to Ansary suggest that he may have been arrested by the Taliban's General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI). The Afghanistan Journalists Center has expressed deep concern regarding Ansary's situation and is calling for his immediate and unconditional release.
A friend of Mahdi Ansary, who requested to remain anonymous due to safety concerns, disclosed that Ansari was last seen on Saturday evening after leaving the AFKA office in the Pul-e-Khushk area of Kabul. Additionally, a journalist monitoring the situation in Kabul reported that Ansary's family and friends have visited several police stations in the city, where they were informally informed at the 13th police district that he had been taken into custody by the GDI.
Typically, the GDI does not release information regarding such cases. However, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Taliban government based in Kandahar, stated to the AFJC that the GDI had not arrested Mahdi Ansary.
Ansary has been employed as a reporter for AFKA for approximately two years. Founded in May 2009, AFKA is a private media outlet that covers a wide range of political, cultural, social, and economic events in Afghanistan. Rahmatullah Karimi, the director of AFKA, expressed concern over Ansary’s sudden disappearance and stated that the agency has raised the issue with the Ministry of Information and Culture, as well as the Taliban's government information and media center.
Karimi further noted that Ansari had previously been detained by Taliban police about a year ago while covering the anniversary of a tragic attack on the Kaj education center in Kabul. Although Ansari had not faced overt threats regarding his journalistic work, findings from the AFJC indicate that he has expressed views on various issues related to the situation in Afghanistan via social media, particularly on his Facebook page, which may not align with the Taliban government's media policy.
AFJC urgently calls for transparency regarding the fate of Mahdi Ansary and demands that Taliban officials clarify the circumstances surrounding his disappearance and release him immediately and without conditions.