New Delhi: The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) has urged the Government of India to grant asylum status to journalists and media workers in Afghanistan, who have been facing attacks, intimidation, and arbitrary detention under the Taliban rule.
In its letter to external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, the IJU urged that India streamline its visa application process and increase the humanitarian intake to facilitate journalists in Afghanistan.
The letter highlighted that since the Taliban’s takeover of the country in August 2021, human rights, particularly media rights, had come under severe strain, and an estimated 1,000 journalists were believed to have fled the country over the last year.
Referring to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) report, the IJU stated that 173 human rights violations took place between August 15, 2021, and June 15, 2022, with the Taliban responsible for 163. These violations included 122 instances of arbitrary arrest and detention, 33 instances of threats and intimidation, and six killings, it added.
“With the Taliban and other terrorist organisations receiving impunity for the crimes against journalists, the IFJ in its South Asia Press Freedom Report documented 75 media rights violations in Afghanistan, including 12 killings and 30 arrests from May 2021 to April 2022,” the letter to the minister highlighted.
The IJU letter also said under the Taliban rule, the rights of women had been quickly and severely eroded. According to an Amnesty International report, there had been widespread harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention, and widespread inhumane restrictions. Women working in journalism had not been exempt from these conditions, the letter noted.
Meanwhile, the IJU, in a press statement, urged journalists in India to extend their support to fellow journalists in Afghanistan by raising funds for the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) special Afghanistan Safety Fund to take part in its global action to save at-risk Afghan media workers. The Wire
