On Tuesday, the Media Complaints and Rights Violations Commission banned the two broadcasters for violating “national and Islamic values,” without giving further details, according to media reports.

On Tuesday, Taliban intelligence forces stormed the headquarters of Noor TV in the capital, Kabul, disconnected the electricity, and sealed the premises, a former staffer told CPJ, on condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal.

Barya TV also was taken off air, according to a journalist familiar with the situation who also spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal. Sources could not confirm whether its offices were also sealed.

“The Taliban must immediately and unconditionally reverse its ban on Noor TV and Barya TV and allow the two channels to resume broadcasting,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “The Taliban are misusing the Media Complaints and Rights Violations Commission to stifle the press in Afghanistan, arbitrarily closing media houses, without regard for freedom of speech.”

Ministry of Information and Culture spokesman Khubaib Ghufran told Agence France-Presse news agency on Thursday that the channels had programs “creating confusion among the public” and their owners had “taken stands as opponents” of the Taliban government.

Hafizullah Barakzai, a member of the commission, told ABC News that a court would investigate files on the two stations, which could not operate until the court gave its verdict.

Pressure had been mounting on Barya TV from Taliban intelligence since late 2023, forcing the broadcaster to lay off most of its staff, CPJ’s journalist source said. The journalist source said that the Taliban’s pressure increased on Barya TV because of Hizbe Islami leader’s criticism of the group’s policies and the TV channel’s broadcast of these criticisms.  

Both of CPJ sources indicate that the specific violations and issues brought before the court have not been disclosed by the Taliban.

Noor TV was established in 2007 by former president Burhanuddin Rabbani, who was assassinated in 2011. It is currently owned by his son, Salahuddin Rabbani, an exiled former foreign minister and leader of the Jamiat-e-Islami party.

Barya TV was founded in 2019 by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former warlord and leader of the Hizb-e-Islami party. Its programming focuses on politics and news about Hekmatyar,

The founder’s son, Habiburrahman Hekmatyar, said on X, formerly Twitter that the channel was shut down because its religious values differed from those of the Taliban.

Barya TV editorial manager Qazi Shabir Ahmad rejected the commission’s claim that Barya TV violated Islamic and national interests and said that the April 16 ban was a “pretext” for stopping its operations. He told CPJ that the Taliban did not communicate any specific issues concerning their broadcasts, either in writing or verbally, prior to the ban, which he described as “politically motivated”.

Since the Taliban took over in 2021, they have shut down local broadcasters, including Radio Nasim in central Daikundi Province, Hamisha Bahar Radio and TV in eastern Nangarhar Province, and Radio Sada e Banowan in northeastern Badakhshan Province. In 2022, the group also banned international broadcasters such as the U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Voice of America.

CPJ’s text messages to Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid requesting comment did not receive a response.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On Thursday, March 30, authorities in the city of Faizabad, in Badakhshan province, shuttered the broadcaster’s operations and sealed its office, according to news reports and an employee of the radio station who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal.

The officers at the scene, from the Taliban’s Directorate of Information and Culture and Directorate of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, accused the outlet of illegally airing music during the holy month of Ramadan. The Taliban banned playing and listening to music when it retook power in August 2021.

The radio station employee who spoke to CPJ said she was not aware that any music had been aired, and believed that the decision was retaliation for the station’s programs focusing on women’s education and job opportunities in Badakhshan.

“The Taliban should immediately reverse its decision shuttering the Radio Sada e Banowan broadcaster and allow the outlet to reopen and work freely,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “The Taliban have deprived Afghan women of everything from jobs to education. Shutting down a women-run radio station shows there is no reprieve for the Afghan media even during the holy month of Ramadan. The Taliban must correct its course and stop cracking down on journalism.”

Radio Sada e Banowan was established in 2014 and owned by Afghan female journalist Najla Shirzad. Local Taliban officials allowed the radio station to restart operations not long after the group retook power. It has six employees, according to the person who spoke to CPJ.

CPJ contacted Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid for comment via messaging app but did not receive any response.

In August 2022, CPJ published a special report about the media crisis in Afghanistan, showing a rapid deterioration in press freedom since the Taliban retook control of the country one year earlier, marked by censorship, arrests, assaults, and restrictions on women journalists.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.