Afghanistan bans coverage of attacks

[David]

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan announced a ban on news coverage of Taliban strikes on Monday, saying such coverage only emboldened the Islamist militants, whose latest strikes killed six in the southern city of Kandahar.

Journalists will only be allowed to cover the aftermath of Taliban attacks with permission from the National Directorate of Security (NDS) spy agency, the agency said. It threatened to detain journalists who film attacks without permission and confiscate their equipment.

"Live coverage does not benefit the government, but benefits the enemies of Afghanistan," NDS spokesman Saeed Ansari said. The agency summoned a group of reporters to announce the ban.

No filming will be permitted while attacks are under way, and live broadcasts will be banned even from a distance, Ansari said.

The move was denounced by Afghan journalism and rights groups, which said it would deprive the public of vital information about the security situation in the country.

"Such a decision prevents the public from receiving accurate information on any occurrence," said Abdul Hameed Mubarez head of the Afghan National Media Union, a group set up to protect Afghan journalists, who often complain of harassment by authorities.

"The government should not hide their inabilities by barring media from covering incidents," said Laila Noori, who monitors media issues for Afghanistan Rights Monitor, the country's main liberties watchdog. "People want to know all the facts on the ground whenever security incidents take place."

The Afghan government imposed a similar ban for a single day last year as an extraordinary measure during a presidential election, but has never before issued a permanent, blanket ban.