In Kandahar, the Taliban governor, Mullah Shireen, has met with local journalists in the province after a gap of around two years and advised them to remain loyal to the Taliban administration.
Local journalists in Kandahar say the meeting was held on Thursday, and participants were not allowed to bring smartphones into the venue. According to them, they also passed through several security checkpoints when entering the provincial building.
The journalists said that during the meeting they raised their concerns with Mullah Shireen regarding the ban on smartphone use, lack of access to information from government departments, taxation on local media outlets, and various issues faced by the people of Kandahar.
According to one local journalist, Mullah Shireen stated that the ban on smartphones will remain in place, but the provincial administration will separately hold a meeting to explore alternative ways of sharing information with journalists.
Kandahar is among the first provinces where Taliban authorities have banned televised interviews, and according to journalists, Taliban officials in this province cooperate less with the media compared to other provinces.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
