The US Ambassador to Kabul John Bass in a tweet on Tuesday called on the Taliban to stop threatening Afghan journalists, and said “more violence, against journalists or civilians, will not bring security and opportunity to Afghanistan, nor will it help the Taliban reach their political objectives”.

Bass said that Afghanistan’s “vibrant media is a testament to the gains of the last 18 years". He says journalism is not a crime, it is a valued public service to the world.

This come a day after, Taliban in a statement threatened all Afghan TV channels, radio stations and other media outlets to avoid airing and publishing advertisements which the resurgent group believes are a “propaganda against their fighters”.

This is the second time the group is threatening Afghan media. The first time, they threatened few media outlets over their reports on the fall of the city of Kunduz in northern Kunduz province back in 2016. 

The group has given a week deadline to the media outlets to stop these advertisements.