A private radio station in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/afghanistan-us-taliban-to-hold-more-talks-on-ending-war-229687">Afghanistan</a> has shut down after numerous threats from a suspected Taliban commander who objected to women working as presenters, officials at the radio station said on Monday.

The incident comes as the Taliban are discussing a peace deal with the United States that could see them re-joining mainstream society, and that has brought new scrutiny of their attitudes to issues like women`s rights and the media.

The private radio station, Samaa, has been broadcasting political, religious, social and entertainment programmes in the central province of Ghazni since 2013.&nbsp;

Its 13 employees, including three women presenters, broadcast in Afghanistan`s two main languages - Dari and Pashto.

The radio station`s director, Ramez Azimi, said Taliban commanders in the area had sent written warnings and telephoned in, to tell the radio station to stop employing women.

"The Taliban also came to my house and issued a threat," Azimi said.

He said the threats had forced him to suspend broadcasts.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied that a Taliban commander had issued the threats. "We are trying to find details," said Mujahid.

The Taliban say many people falsely identify themselves as Taliban, often in the course of private disputes.

Several districts of Ghazni are under Taliban control. The militants hold sway over about half of Afghanistan and they have been intensifying their attacks despite efforts towards a peace agreement to end the 18-year war.

The Taliban ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001.

Under their hardline interpretation of Islamic law, women have banned women from working or going to school.

But the Taliban have recently been projecting themselves as a more moderate force.

In a recent statement, they said Islam gave women rights in areas including business and ownership, inheritance, education, work, choosing a husband, security and well-being.

But they denounced "so-called women`s rights activists" who encouraged women to defy Afghan customs.

The Taliban have staged numerous deadly attacks against the media and Afghanistan is one of the world`s most dangerous countries for journalists. 
The Taliban say they only target media that is biased against them.

A private radio station in Afghanistan has shut down after numerous threats from a suspected Taliban commander who objected to women working as presenters, officials at the radio station said on Monday.

A private radio station in Afghanistan has shut down after numerous threats from a suspected Taliban commander who objected to women working as presenters, officials at the radio station said on Monday. The incident comes as the Taliban are discussing a peace deal with the United States that could see them re-joining mainstream society, and that has brought new scrutiny of their attitudes to issues like women`s rights and the media. The private radio station, Samaa, has been broadcasting political, religious, social and entertainment programmes in the central province of Ghazni since 2013. Its 13 employees, including three women presenters, broadcast in Afghanistan`s two main languages - Dari and Pashto. The radio station`s director, Ramez Azimi, said Taliban commanders in the area had sent written warnings and telephoned in, to tell the radio station to stop employing women. "The Taliban also came to my house and issued a threat," Azimi said. He said the threats had forced him to suspend broadcasts. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied that a Taliban commander had issued the threats. "We are trying to find details," said Mujahid. The Taliban say many people falsely identify themselves as Taliban, often in the course of private disputes. Several districts of Ghazni are under Taliban control. The militants hold sway over about half of Afghanistan and they have been intensifying their attacks despite efforts towards a peace agreement to end the 18-year war. The Taliban ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001. Under their hardline interpretation of Islamic law, women have banned women from working or going to school. But the Taliban have recently been projecting themselves as a more moderate force. In a recent statement, they said Islam gave women rights in areas including business and ownership, inheritance, education, work, choosing a husband, security and well-being. But they denounced "so-called women`s rights activists" who encouraged women to defy Afghan customs. The Taliban have staged numerous deadly attacks against the media and Afghanistan is one of the world`s most dangerous countries for journalists. The Taliban say they only target media that is biased against them.

Afghanistan radio station shuts down after threats by suspected Taliban

US public radio Voice of America (VOA) on Thursday <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/in-pakistan-public-education-suffocates-under-surging-population-183925">called for Pakistan</a> to lift a block on two of its websites, in Urdu and Pashto, as concerns grow over freedom of speech in the country.

"In the interest of press freedom, VOA calls upon those responsible for blocking our content to immediately remove these constraints," said Amanda Bennett, the director of VOA, in a statement to AFP.

"Any attempt to block our websites deprives Urdu and Pashto speakers in the region access to a trusted news source," she continued, adding that the organisation was "troubled" by the block.

The VOA Urdu website has been partially or fully blocked since early December and the site for VOA Deewa, the Pashto language service, since late October, she said.

The websites have been irregularly accessible in Islamabad in recent days. Pakistani information minister Fawad Chaudhry told VOA the block was in place due to "false and prejudiced reporting".

"The stories they were doing were only projecting a particular narrative without any impartial view," he said, according to a story published by VOA on its English language site.&nbsp;

"There are many things happening in our country and most are positive."&nbsp;

In the article VOA blamed the penalty on its coverage of the Pashtun Protection Movement (PTM), a civil rights group which has rattled the powerful Pakistani military with its claims of army abuses and accusations of ties to the Afghan Taliban.

Recently, the military warned the PTM that it will use force against them if they "cross the line". Coverage of the group in local mainstream media is muted.

There have been growing concerns about what is seen as a clampdown on media in Pakistan in recent months, with a series of high-profile attacks on journalists leading to fears the shadowy military establishment is seeking to shrink the space for dissent and free speech.

Local media have complained about pressure in the run-up to a general election in July which resulted in self-censorship tilted towards the eventual victor, cricketer-turned-prime-minister Imran Khan.

In January, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Pashto-language station -- Radio Mashaal, or Torch -- was closed for airing content "against the interest of Pakistan".

US public radio Voice of America (VOA) on Thursday called for Pakistan to lift a block on two of its websites, in Urdu and Pashto, as concerns grow over freedom of speech in the country.

US public radio Voice of America (VOA) on Thursday called for Pakistan to lift a block on two of its websites, in Urdu and Pashto, as concerns grow over freedom of speech in the country. "In the interest of press freedom, VOA calls upon those responsible for blocking our content to immediately remove these constraints," said Amanda Bennett, the director of VOA, in a statement to AFP. "Any attempt to block our websites deprives Urdu and Pashto speakers in the region access to a trusted news source," she continued, adding that the organisation was "troubled" by the block. The VOA Urdu website has been partially or fully blocked since early December and the site for VOA Deewa, the Pashto language service, since late October, she said. The websites have been irregularly accessible in Islamabad in recent days. Pakistani information minister Fawad Chaudhry told VOA the block was in place due to "false and prejudiced reporting". "The stories they were doing were only projecting a particular narrative without any impartial view," he said, according to a story published by VOA on its English language site. "There are many things happening in our country and most are positive." In the article VOA blamed the penalty on its coverage of the Pashtun Protection Movement (PTM), a civil rights group which has rattled the powerful Pakistani military with its claims of army abuses and accusations of ties to the Afghan Taliban. Recently, the military warned the PTM that it will use force against them if they "cross the line". Coverage of the group in local mainstream media is muted. There have been growing concerns about what is seen as a clampdown on media in Pakistan in recent months, with a series of high-profile attacks on journalists leading to fears the shadowy military establishment is seeking to shrink the space for dissent and free speech. Local media have complained about pressure in the run-up to a general election in July which resulted in self-censorship tilted towards the eventual victor, cricketer-turned-prime-minister Imran Khan. In January, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Pashto-language station -- Radio Mashaal, or Torch -- was closed for airing content "against the interest of Pakistan".

US public radio 'Voice of America' calls for Pakistan to lift block on two websites

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