TV anchor attacked by unknown armed men in Kabul

Kabul [Afghanistan]: A TV anchor, Ahmad Baseer Ahmadi from Ayna TV channel said that he was beaten by a number of armed men in PD 9 of Kabul city.

As per Ahmadi, he was way home when he was attacked by armed individuals, reported Tolo News.

“They hit me on my head with a pistol,” he said, adding, “The journalists and media workers are really at risk. Those who said that the journalists are safe, are the ones who left the country and live outside of Afghanistan.”

“The opened fire. One bullet hit the wall and another hit the ground. They hit him on the head with a pistol and broke his teeth,” said Mohammad Nadir, a witness.

Meanwhile, journalists called on the Islamic Emirate to initiate a serious investigation into cases of violence against media persons, reported Tolo News.

“The journalists have recently faced persecution. We hope the media watchdogs and Islamic Emirate probe the cases,” said Farkhunda Mihbi, a journalist.

NAI- a group supporting open media in Afghanistan, said that cases of violence against journalists have recently surged and the perpetrators have yet to be held accountable, reported Tolo News.

“We ask the Islamic Emirate to probe the cases so the people will know if it was committed by the people acting under the Islamic Emirate officials or by the individuals who abuse the title of the Islamic Emirate,” said Naseer Ahmad Noori, an official at NAI.

More than 30 cases of violence were recorded in the past three months.

Based on a survey conducted by the Afghanistan National Journalists’ Union after the fall of the former government, nearly 70 per cent of the media workers have become jobless. The survey shows that over 80 per cent of the media organizations have stopped operating.