8 September 2019
Sharan, Paktika province: Local officials confirmed on Sunday that Taliban has released the six journalists who were abducted by the group in South eastern province of Paktika.
Provincial spokesperson Shah Mahmood Aryan said that the journalists contacted the media office in Paktika province around 9:30 am on Sunday and confirmed that they were released by Taliban.
Taliban had abducted the journalists on Friday September 6 in Zurmat district of neighboring Paktia province when they were on their way to Khost province to participate a training workshop.
A Taliban spokesperson claimed the journalists had been “mistakenly” kidnapped.
According to the Afghanistan Journalists Center(AFJC), the journalists are including Killid radio reporter Khairudin Zaki, Yaran Radio reporters Asadullah Samim and Wahab, Milma radio reporter Ilham, Radio Television Afghanistan(RTA) reporter Tareq Zaki and Pashton Ghag Radio report Raouf Zahin.
Afghanistan Journalists Center(AFJC) happily welcomes the release of the journalists. “It is a positive step toward journalists and media and we are reaffirming our position that the journalists should never have been abducted and detained anywhere in Afghanistan. The Taliban should stop threating journalists and the media, an issue that continues to hinder media freedom, instead creating a culture of fear and censorship.”
In June the Taliban said Afghan journalists would be targeted unless media outlets stopped broadcasting what the hardline extremist group described as government propaganda against the Taliban.