Discrepancies Arise Over Publication Of Photos Among Taliban Officials

As per an examination of Taliban’s institutions on social media by Afghanistan International, it has come to light that the group’s governor in Khost did not publish pictures of his meeting.

However, his deputy has published pictures of his meetings.

Some local journalists in Khost told Afghanistan International that the governor does not allow them to come to his meetings with cameras and videos. However, Mahboob Shah Qanet, the deputy governor, has good relations with journalists and invites them to meetings with cameras.

Neda Mohammad Nadim, the Taliban's Minister of Higher Education banned journalists from taking photos and videos during a meeting at Sheikh Zayed University in Khost province.

The Taliban governor's office in Khost published only pictures of the buildings of Sheikh Zayed University and a jihadi madrassa along with reports of these meetings on social media.

Abdul Qayyum Rouhani, the Taliban's governor in Khost, is a close associate of Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah. Mehboob Shah Qanet, the deputy governor of Khost, is close to Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban's interior minister.

Earlier, it was reported that the Haqqani network is in favour of publishing photos and images, contrary to Hibatullah's opinion.

According to an investigation by Afghanistan International, pictures of the meetings of Khalid Hanafi, the Taliban's Minister for the Promotion of Virtue, during his last visit to Nangarhar have not been published on the social media pages of the Nangarhar Media Office.

However, on Tuesday, Azizullah Mustafa, the deputy governor of Nangarhar, attended the vaccination campaign meeting and posted pictures of him in several consecutive meetings on social media.

During his visit to Laghman yesterday, Khalid Hanafi did not allow journalists to attend the meeting with cameras, and the pictures of the meeting were not published on the social media pages of Laghman province.

However, images of several visits to Laghman by Taliban governor Sheikh Sher Ahmad Haqqani have been published by the Laghman Provincial Media and Communications Office.

The Taliban's new law banning the use of images of individuals in the media has sparked discontent among sections of the Taliban.

A source close to the Taliban told Afghanistan International that individuals linked to the Haqqani network, which controls many propaganda centres, oppose the new restrictions on the media, seeing the move as an attempt to isolate the group.