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The Taliban is continuing to ramp up its influence throughout Afghanistan, barring some international media broadcasts from airing throughout the country.
The Pashto and Persian broadcasts of the BBC were reported to be offline by the Associated Press. Foreign dramas are also banned from broadcasting, although whether specific shows are affected by the ban is unclear. The banning of BBC services has been heavily criticized by the United Nations, which claims that it is another "repressive step" against Afghans.
"More than 6 million Afghans consume the BBC's independent and impartial journalism on TV every week and it is crucial they are not denied access to it in the future," BBC World Services Head of Languages Tarik Kafala said in a statement.
"We call on the Taliban to reverse their decision and allow our TV partners to return the BBC's news programmes to their airwaves immediately."
It is not only the BBC that has been affected by the ban. According to Spanish international news outlet Agencia EFE, four radio stations were taken off the air in the southern Kandahar province and six workers were arrested.
The banning of international broadcasts is the latest action by the Taliban that directly hurts journalists and their work, not only in Afghanistan but around the world.
According to the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AJC), 117 cases of violence against journalists and the media were reported from last March to this March. Among them were instances of "injuries, physical and verbal harassment, short-term detention, insult and humiliation, abduction," and other forms of violence.
"After the Taliban's takeover, an atmosphere of fear and apprehension has been created with an increase in threats against journalists," the AJC wrote in a report published on March 16, days before international news media was further restricted. "Access to information has significantly been limited, and journalists have been forced to conduct self-censorship."
The broadcast ban also comes after the Taliban released several journalists from their detention over the past two months. On February 11, the organization said that it released nine journalists, including former BBC journalist Andrew North.
More recently, three employees of TOLOnews, Afghanistan's largest television station, were released after allegedly breaking new laws discouraging dissent against the Taliban.
"After almost 24 hours I have been released from prison," said Bahram Aman, a news anchor at TOLOnews who was one of the three arrested. "I will always be the voice of the people."
Newsweek reached out to a representative for the Taliban but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Update 3/28/22. 10:30 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information
