Are Afghan peace talks stoking the targeted killing of journalists?

Mursal Wahidi, Sadia Sadat and Shahnaz Roafi were aged between 18 and 21 when they died. They were journalists, working at the dubbing wing of a privately-owned TV station called Enikas, in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. They were killed on March 2 as they were walking home from work. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Of the 10 female journalists working at the TV station, four have been killed so far. Earlier, Malalai Maiwand, a presenter, was gunned down along with the driver of her car in the same city in December. ISIS had also claimed responsibility for the attack on Maiwand.

Journalism remains a risky profession in the conflict-ravaged Afghanistan. Sometimes the journalists fall to attacks by ISIS, sometimes to the Taliban, sometimes to local militant outlifts. And they keep falling in the line of duty, sometimes along with their family.

Case in point: the family of slain journalist Bismillah Aimaq. He was killed on the New Year's Day in 2021 allegedly by goons connected to a local politician. On February 25, three members of Aimaq's family, including his brother and a 10-year-old girl, were killed in an attack on his house in the north-western Ghor province. Ten others have also been reported to be injured in the attack. Fingers were pointed at the Taliban, but the group has denied any involvement.

Also, in February, Khalil Narmgo, an influential journalist and former chief of a journalist association, was killed in Baghlan province. According to a report published by The Hindu, Dr Narmgo was travelling when his car was stopped and he was gunned down after being taken out of the car.   

While Afghanistan has always been notoriously dangerous for journalists—according to Afghanistan Journalists Center, more than 119 local and foreign journalists have been killed in the last 20 years—the situation has particularly worsened in recent months. Citing Afghan Journalists Safety Committee, Al Jazeera recently reported that compared to 2019, violence against journalists went up by 26 percent in 2020. The Al Jazeera report added, "In just the last six months, 15 journalists and media workers have been killed in a series of planned killings."

And a United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) report in February found that between September 12, 2020 and January 2021, at least 11 journalists and human rights activists had been killed in targeted attacks in the country.

The recent spate of attacks on journalists and civil society members has aggravated the fears of the people. In a country where crimes against journalists are committed with impunity by various parties and vested quarters, where most of the killings go unclaimed and unaddressed, this spike in violence has had a chilling effect on the freedom of the press and free speech.

Many journalists, especially those who are on the receiving end of threats, are now fearful of pursuing their profession. "Whenever I cover some incident, an explosion or attack, I am filled with fear and panic," said Kabul-based TV journalist Zabiullah Doorandish, who survived a roadside bomb attack last year, which, unfortunately, two of his colleagues did not.

Another female TV presenter had to flee home after she got death threats over phone by an alleged Taliban associate. "As a mother, I get depressed thinking about my children's future. What will happen to them if something happens to me?" she told the media.

While the self-censorship effect that these targeted attacks have had on the journalists is alarming, there is another aspect that the Afghan government needs to deal with immediately: why this sudden increase? The UNAMA report suggests that while journalism has been riddled with risks in Afghanistan—with many journalists becoming collateral damage in general attacks on the populace, such as suicide blasts, or at times even "secondary attacks" in the line of duty, being targeted for their specific coverage of issues—the UNAMA has noticed "a distinct change in the type of killings" since 2018. It involves "intentional, premeditated, and deliberate targeting of individuals".

It is mentionable that on March 27, 2018, 20 countries and organisations including the US, China, Russia, Turkey, and the EU voiced their support for peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. A joint declaration stated "strong backing for the National Unity Government's offer to launch direct talks with the Taliban, without any preconditions". The talks have been going on since then, with fresh dialogue resuming earlier in the year in Doha.

However, there have been speculations that the attacks on the journalists are being stoked by the ongoing peace talks. Some Afghan government officials have even suggested that the Taliban are killing journalists and civil society members to create panic among the people in the hope of gaining leverage during the dialogue.

The Voice of America quoted first vice-president of Afghanistan, Amrullah Saleh, as terming these killings as "terror campaign" by the Taliban, hinting at its connection with the peace talks. 

The head of UNAMA and the UN secretary-general's special representative for Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons voiced her concern regarding the situation: "At a time when dialogue and an end to the conflict through talks and political settlement should be the focus, the voices from human rights and the media need to be heard more than ever before, instead, they are being silenced."

And given the Taliban's brutal history, this possibility cannot be ignored. The Taliban has already taken significant risks in agreeing to take part in the peace talks. For one, joining in the US-led talks has exposed the Taliban to propaganda by the ISIS to malign its credibility, since the US has been demonised for long in the country. Secondly, the Taliban joining hands with the Afghan government can also diminish its acceptance among the hardliners, who then might choose to side with the ISIS. In this context, it is understandable why the Taliban would want to emerge victorious from these discussions, by any means necessary.

Moreover, it is not too far-fetched to speculate about the possibility of ISIS creating trouble at home to impede the peace talks. It might be trying to feed the distrust between the parties involved in negotiations, as a united front of the Afghan government and the Taliban, backed by the US, is certainly not a desirable outcome for the ISIS. Also, by carrying out and claiming these attacks, the ISIS might be trying to establish its supremacy, especially among the anti-US groups, for support and potential alliance in the coming months.

"The government doesn't do anything about these targeted killings," said the female TV presenter who had to run away from her home for safety. Meanwhile, Doorandish expressed the fear that "maybe there are groups inside the government that are targeting media".

Indeed, the repeated failure of the Afghan government in boosting security of the media workers and human rights activists, resulting in increased targeted killings, is fuelling cynicism. The political situation in Afghanistan is highly volatile with various state and non-state actors operating to serve their diverse interests. But no individual should have to die for doing their work. It is the responsibility of the Afghan government to ensure the safety of its people.

Whether peace can ever return to Afghanistan is something that remains unclear. What is not, however, is the urgent need for the government to take immediate and meaningful action to ensure the security of its people, especially journalists. Now more than even, Afghanistan needs the fourth estate to expose the truths and uphold the interests of the nation so that it does not fall into the hands of any particular group.

Tasneem Tayeb is a columnist for The Daily Star. Her Twitter handle is: @TayebTasneem