Media of Afghanistan

The media of Afghanistan includes printing, broadcasting and digital. It is mainly in Pashto and Dari (Persian) languages. Although it was tightly controlled under the Taliban government from 1996 to late 2001, the state media gradually relaxed press restriction and private media began growing rapidly in the last decade.

In 2013, Reporters Without Borders listed the media environment of Afghanistan as 128 out of 179, with 1st being most free. The country jumped 22 places compared to the previous year mainly because no journalists have been jailed. Journalists in the country operate in one of the world's most complex and contested information environments. At times, the lines between propaganda, intelligence and journalism blur, and some journalists covering Taliban activities have been accused of treachery or arrested, while others have been kidnapped, beaten or harassed by Taliban insurgents.

The first newspaper, Siraj-ul-Akhbar (Lamp of the News) was initially published on January 11, 1906, with Abdul-Rauf as editor. After this first and only issue in Dari (Persian), its publication stopped. It was revived in October 1911 by Mahmud Tarzi, the editor and owner of the newspaper who was critical of the friendship between the British Empire and Afghanistan. Mahmud Tarzi became known as the pioneer of Afghan journalism, in 1916 he famously wrote: "Siraj Al Akhbar Afghaniya is neither British, nor Russian nor French nor Italian nor German nor Chinese or Japanese. It is a Muslim newspaper and, in that, it is specifically an Afghan newspaper. Whatever it says, whatever melody it sings, is from an Afghan point of view and stems from the tone of Afghan national dignity.". In 1919, under King Amanullah Khan, Aman-i-Afghan (Afghan Peace) replaced Siraj al-Akhbar, serving as an organ of the government, while several smaller private journals appeared under different ministries. Along with these developments, Radio Kabul began broadcasting in 1925, which inaugurated a new era of mass media in the country. The 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan and the Press Law of 1965 provided for freedom of the press, within the boundaries of appropriate behavior. The press was editorially independent from government but was instructed to safeguard the interests of the state and constitutional monarchy, Islam, and public order. Afghan journalism progressed and developed from the 1950s through to the 1970s, though it remained limited.

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