Kabul: A deadly Taliban attack on a bus carrying employees of Afghanistan's biggest TV station drew widespread condemnation today, with activists denouncing it as an attack on freedom of speech and the country's young and fragile media sector.
A suicide bomber struck the minibus with workers from Tolo TV, owned by the private Moby Group, the country's biggest media organisation. At least seven people were killed and 25 were wounded in the explosion.
The bus was hit as it was passing near the Russian Embassy, which triggered initial speculation that the mission was the target.
But the Taliban quickly claimed responsibility and said they had specifically targeted Tolo TV, calling it a "spy agency." A statement said the station's vehicles had been under surveillance for some time.
Tolo is the most popular TV station in Afghanistan, providing viewers with a mixture of news, current affairs and talk shows, as well as soap operas and other entertainment.
Moby Group is headquartered in Dubai and in 2012, Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation took a minority stake in the company.
Along with another popular privately-owned station, 1 TV, Tolo was threatened by the Taliban in October following the broadcast of reports on the insurgents' activities in the northern city of Kunduz, which the Taliban held for three days from late September. The Taliban said the reports were inaccurate, designated the two stations "military objectives," and threatened unspecified consequences.
The emergence of a free and vibrant media is seen as a major achievement of post-Taliban Afghanistan. A 2014 study by Altai Consulting found that 175 radio and
75 television stations had been set up since the 2001 US-led invasion that toppled the Taliban, who ran the country from 1996-2001. The Taliban regime had one radio station and banned television.
Also today, Human Rights Watch said the attack against Tolo TV was an "atrocity designed to undermine Afghanistan's still-fragile media freedom."
The New York-based group said journalists have been consistently threatened by the insurgents, including in December 2014, when the Taliban "explicitly threatened to attack any journalists seen as supporting Western values."
"Afghan journalists have faced increasing intimidation and violence from both state and non-state figures in recent years," HRW said.
Abdul Mujeeb Khalvatgar, the executive director for the independent Nai Supporting Open Media non-government organisation, said the Tolo attack "not only targeted media but all social values, particularly human rights and civil society.”
