Kabul, Afghanistan: The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC) is deeply concerned about a recent Tweet by MoIA spokesman, Tariq Arian, about a private media outlet being involved in the transfer of explosives. AJSC calls on the Ministry of Interior Affairs to provide official clarification on this issue to the media community as soon as possible.
The Ministry of Interior Affairs, as an institution responsible for ensuring the security of the people, needs to be utmost judicious in making statements about incidents because dissemination of unreliable and unverified information not only confuses the public but also undermines the working relations between the ministry and the media.
According to the information obtained by AJSC, the statement of the interior ministry is not consistent with facts. AJSC believes that vague and incorrect remarks from official government institutions weakens credibility of the institutions. In a situation where journalists and the media are being directly targeted and targeted attacks against them are on the rise, such a statement is a major blow to freedom of expression and the position of media.
Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC) urges the Ministry of Interior Affairs (MoIA) to seriously investigate this matter. If the allegations are proven to be untrue, MoIA shall take the necessary steps according to the laws. It is noteworthy that, in the past too, the Ministry of Interior Affairs has published statements inconsistent with facts, a serious challenge that needs to be addressed by the Ministry.