Taliban Shut Third Shia Media Outlet in Four Months, Press Freedom Group Says

The Taliban have closed a third Shia media outlet in four months and arrested a journalist and five media workers, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The committee said the closures point to a “systematic effort” to stifle media linked to Afghanistan’s Hazara and Shia communities.

The latest shutdown adds to a series of actions against outlets associated with those communities. The arrests extend the pressure beyond media organisations to the people working for them.

The committee’s assessment places the closure in the context of a broader pattern, rather than an isolated action against a single outlet. Its warning centres on the continued ability of Hazara- and Shia-linked media to operate.