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Taliban shuts down Tamadon TV amid crackdown on Afghanistan’s Shia broadcasters

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Taliban shuts down Tamadon TV amid crackdown on Afghanistan’s Shia broadcasters

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New York, June 24, 2026—Taliban authorities must allow broadcaster Tamadon TV to resume operations without interference and stop their escalating crackdown on Afghanistan’s independent media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.

On June 23, several armed members of the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice raided Tamadon TV’s headquarters in the capital city of Kabul, insulted its employees, forced the station off the air, and sealed its offices, according to news reports.

Tamadon TV broadcasts news and political analysis and is one of the few independent stations left in Afghanistan that airs Shia religious programming under the Taliban’s ultra-conservative Sunni Islamist rule. The raid occurred during Muharram — one of the most sacred months in the Shia Muslim calendar — and comes amid Taliban restrictions on Shia religious activities.

“The closure of Tamadon TV and the degrading treatment of its staff mark an alarming escalation in the Taliban’s assault on Afghanistan’s independent media,” said CPJ’s Afghanistan-Pakistan Representative Waliullah Rahmani. “Taliban authorities must immediately allow Tamadon TV to resume broadcasting without interference and stop silencing news outlets with force on the pretext of unproven allegations.”

In June last year, the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice announced the closure of Tamadon TV, alleging that the broadcaster was affiliated with the outlawed Harakat-e-Islami political party and operating on “seized land” — but authorities never implemented the shutdown.

Tamadon TV Director Mohammad Jawad Mohseni said in a Facebook post that the broadcaster was not affiliated with any political party and that the land it occupies had been bought in a private sale. A special court has been reviewing the property’s title deed for more than a year but has not yet issued a decision, he said.

In February 2026, Taliban intelligence agents took control of the Rah-e-Farda TV station, which is owned by prominent Hazara leader Mohammad Mohaqiq. The station resumed operations this month after the Taliban issued a broadcasting license to a new owner, according to news reports.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Justice did not respond to CPJ’s emailed request for comment.

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