On World Television Day, media watchdogs expressed concerns over the reduction of activities of media in Afghanistan.

NAI, a media-supporting group in Afghanistan, said in a report that within the past two years, more than 50 percent of the TV channels halted their operations.

November 21 marks World Television Day.

Meanwhile, some of the journalists expressed concerns over the lack of on time access to information.

“I call on the Islamic Emirate government to provide the opportunities to the journalists to cover the information, particularly the TV channels, so they can freely convey the information to the people,” said Mustafa Shaharyar, journalist.

“TV is one of the powerful instruments to transmit the message which plays an important role in the mindset of the public,” said Raqeeb Fayaz, journalist.

An official of Afghanistan's Journalist Safety Committee, Abdul Qadeer Wiar, said that Television plays an important role in the media society.

“The economic challenges affect the Afghan media, particularly the TV channels which have high expenses,” he said.

According to the Ministry of Information and Culture, around 360 media organizations including TV, print and radio news outlets are active in the country.

“For now, I think those TV channels which are active in Afghanistan are sufficient. Our country doesn’t need a lot of TV channels,” said Mahajar Farahi, deputy Minister of Publications of the Ministry of Information and Culture.