The Afghanistan Telecom Regularity Authority (ATRA) in a statement called on the Ministry of Interior to ban the operations of media outlets with expired licenses.  

ATRA named more than one hundred media organizations who have not paid their taxes across the country.  

This comes as the Ministry of Information and Culture (MoIC) also emphasized that the media outlets who have not paid their taxes and are in debt to the government will be held accountable.  

“The Islamic Emirate will neutrally treat all media organizations based on the format which it has formed for media,” said Abdulhaq Humad, press director of the MoIC. 

This comes as media watchdogs have repeatedly voiced concerns over the economic challenges faced by the Afghan media community.  

“We urge the Islamic Emirate to make plans to provide economical support to the media,” said Masroor Lutfi, head of the media section at the Afghanistan National Journalists' Union. 

“Unfortunately, this action affects the freedom of speech and media. In the meeting we had with the officials from the Ministry of Information and Culture we urged them to assist the media in this regard,” said Hujatullah Mujadidi, head of Afghan Independent Journalists Association.

When the Islamic Emirate swept into power more than 40 percent of media organizations halted their operations due to economic problems, according to media watchdogs.