Ziar Khan Yaad, reporter of Afghanistan’s leading news channel Tolo News on Thursday clarified that reports of his deaths were false and that he was beaten by Taliban for unknown reasons. The false report about this death was first published on Tolo News website.
“I was beaten by the Taliban in Kabul’s New City while reporting. Cameras, technical equipment and my personal mobile phone have also been hijacked. Some people have spread the news of my death which is false. The Taliban got out of an armored Land Cruiser and hit me at gunpoint,” the reporter tweeted.
I was beaten by the Taliban in Kabul's New City while reporting. Cameras, technical equipment and my personal mobile phone have also been hijacked
Some people have spread the news of my death which is false.The The Taliban got out of an armored Land Cruiser and hit me at gunpoint— Ziar Khan Yaad (@ziaryaad) August 26, 2021
“I still don’t know why they behaved like that and suddenly attacked me. The issue has been shared with Taliban leaders; however, the perpetrators have not yet been arrested, which is a serious threat to freedom of expression,” he further added.
Speaking about the latest incident of violence against journalists in Afghanistan, Parviz Aminzadeh, deputy head of the Parwan Journalists’ Association told Tolo News that Kabul has been a source of concern for journalists ever since Taliban seized control of the country. Journalists in Afghanistan have urged officials to investigate the matter.
Ahmadullah Wasiq, the deputy head of the Taliban’s cultural commission told Tolo News, “The Kabul Command has assured that it is investigating this” and further added that if there is a problem for journalists, they will try to address it.
This is not the first instance of attack against journalists. Last week, a relative of a DW journalist was killed by Taliban while raiding his house. In July, Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was killed by the insurgent group in Kandahar.