AJSC’s Advocacy Director, Mr. Sidiqullah Tawhidi, participated in a two-day Intra-Afghan Dialogue Conference in Doha on 7-8 July 2019. Representing the Afghan media community along with the Director of Tolo News, Mr. Lotfullah Najafizada, Mr. Tawhidi discussed issues related to press freedom and journalist safety and the need to preserve them as part of peace talks.
On the sideline of the conference, Mr. Tawhidi and Mr. Najafizada also held a meeting with the then Minister of Information and Culture of the Taliban Regime, Mr. Amir Khan Motaqi who is now a member of Qatar based Political Bureau of Taliban to discuss the apolitical nature of the media and why they should not be targeted. Mr. Tawhidi Stated, “Taliban must realize the current condition of Afghan media and freedom of expression and refrain from targeting them or coercing them to act in their preferred way”.
On 2 July 2019, Germany’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Markus Potzel, had said in a statement that as part of their efforts to support the peace process in Afghanistan, Germany and Qatar will convene an Intra-Afghan Dialogue Conference to be held in Doha on 7 and 8 July 2019. To this end, a delegation of 50 members from the Afghan political elites, civil society members, the youth and journalists left Kabul for Doha to attend this two-day intra-Afghan dialogue which according to critics is a platform for discussions on the ongoing efforts for peace and reconciliation in war-ravaged Afghanistan.
