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Govt Accused Of Providing ‘Inaccurate’ Info On Ghazni Crisis

Two newspaper editors raised concerns on Tuesday about what they said was inaccurate information fed to the media by government spokesmen and officials over the past few days regarding the Ghazni crisis.

The editors of the two popular Afghan newspapers accused government of distributing the inaccurate information and of government sources being unreliable in terms of distributing information.  

According to these editors, government’s public relations strategy is weak and incorrect information delivered could lead to a crisis.

Over the past four days, journalists in Kabul found it virtually impossible to get credible updates about what was happening on the ground in Ghazni.

During the battle for the city, residents and local reporters in the province were the only source of information as government continued to give out contradictory reports.

“Government’s process of releasing information was an ineffective and slow procedure. In sensitive times, when people are worried about the safety of their families and about Ghazni city, all government departments responsible for giving out information failed to give reporters up-to-date accounts,” said Zaki Daryabi, editor in chief - Etilaat Roz Daily newspaper.

On the first day of the Ghazni siege, government spokesmen said the city was completely under government control. However, deadly battles continued for another two days and the Taliban not only entered the city but also roamed freely in some areas - leaving many dead and wounded in their wake . 

“Government departments, due to a lack of cooperation between themselves, cannot provide the necessary and correct information to the people and especially to the media,” said Parwiz Kawa, editor-in-chief of Hasht-e-Subh daily newspaper.

In addition, the Taliban were far more active on social media – especially Twitter – in the past few days.  

President Ashraf Ghani put out five tweets about the Ghazni war; Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah issued not a single one; the president’s spokesman Haroon Chakhansuri uploaded one tweet, the president’s deputy spokesman Shahhussain Murtazavi put out six tweets, the official Presidential Palace (ARG) page issued no tweets and Fazal Fazli, an advisor to the president uploaded 11 tweets. 

In contrast, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid issued over 100 tweets in three languages, Persian, Pashto and English and many statements and videos were uploaded to the Taliban’s webpage in this time. 

Government Media and Information Center’s (GMIC) Twitter page was the most active government page, but most of its tweets were quotes by government officials following press conferences at GMIC. 

In a press conference on Monday at GMIC, Defense Minister Tariq Shah Bahrami said he did not have exact figures on fatalities of soldiers and civilians in the province, but he gave an exact number of Taliban casualties.  

“Around 100 security and defense forces might have been killed, but the figure is not an exact figure. Also, possibly around 20 to 30 civilians have been killed,” Bahrami said at the time. 

In reaction to these claims, the president’s spokesman Haroon Chakhansuri wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday night, defending government’s position and said: "To ensure timely and accurate flow of information, the Ministers of Defense and Interior, Senior Deputy MoI, Ghazni Police Chief and spokespersons of MoD and MoI have constantly appeared for press briefings and made themselves available for electronic media.

“While the government will continue to ensure facilitating media’s unabated access to information, it will not undermine professionalism and ethics, by giving special treatment to any given media outlet based on their demands.

“Since a section of electronic media wants to retain monopoly over dissemination of news for commercial ratings, they want positive discrimination and preferential treatment from the government,” he wrote.

Govt Accused Of Providing ‘Inaccurate’ Info On Ghazni Crisis

Media outlets criticize government for not giving out accurate and detailed information especially after communication lines were cut in the city.  

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Two newspaper editors raised concerns on Tuesday about what they said was inaccurate information fed to the media by government spokesmen and officials over the past few days regarding the Ghazni crisis.

The editors of the two popular Afghan newspapers accused government of distributing the inaccurate information and of government sources being unreliable in terms of distributing information.  

According to these editors, government’s public relations strategy is weak and incorrect information delivered could lead to a crisis.

Over the past four days, journalists in Kabul found it virtually impossible to get credible updates about what was happening on the ground in Ghazni.

During the battle for the city, residents and local reporters in the province were the only source of information as government continued to give out contradictory reports.

“Government’s process of releasing information was an ineffective and slow procedure. In sensitive times, when people are worried about the safety of their families and about Ghazni city, all government departments responsible for giving out information failed to give reporters up-to-date accounts,” said Zaki Daryabi, editor in chief - Etilaat Roz Daily newspaper.

On the first day of the Ghazni siege, government spokesmen said the city was completely under government control. However, deadly battles continued for another two days and the Taliban not only entered the city but also roamed freely in some areas - leaving many dead and wounded in their wake . 

“Government departments, due to a lack of cooperation between themselves, cannot provide the necessary and correct information to the people and especially to the media,” said Parwiz Kawa, editor-in-chief of Hasht-e-Subh daily newspaper.

In addition, the Taliban were far more active on social media – especially Twitter – in the past few days.  

President Ashraf Ghani put out five tweets about the Ghazni war; Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah issued not a single one; the president’s spokesman Haroon Chakhansuri uploaded one tweet, the president’s deputy spokesman Shahhussain Murtazavi put out six tweets, the official Presidential Palace (ARG) page issued no tweets and Fazal Fazli, an advisor to the president uploaded 11 tweets. 

In contrast, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid issued over 100 tweets in three languages, Persian, Pashto and English and many statements and videos were uploaded to the Taliban’s webpage in this time. 

Government Media and Information Center’s (GMIC) Twitter page was the most active government page, but most of its tweets were quotes by government officials following press conferences at GMIC. 

In a press conference on Monday at GMIC, Defense Minister Tariq Shah Bahrami said he did not have exact figures on fatalities of soldiers and civilians in the province, but he gave an exact number of Taliban casualties.  

“Around 100 security and defense forces might have been killed, but the figure is not an exact figure. Also, possibly around 20 to 30 civilians have been killed,” Bahrami said at the time. 

In reaction to these claims, the president’s spokesman Haroon Chakhansuri wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday night, defending government’s position and said: "To ensure timely and accurate flow of information, the Ministers of Defense and Interior, Senior Deputy MoI, Ghazni Police Chief and spokespersons of MoD and MoI have constantly appeared for press briefings and made themselves available for electronic media.

“While the government will continue to ensure facilitating media’s unabated access to information, it will not undermine professionalism and ethics, by giving special treatment to any given media outlet based on their demands.

“Since a section of electronic media wants to retain monopoly over dissemination of news for commercial ratings, they want positive discrimination and preferential treatment from the government,” he wrote.

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